The Window
by Stessa
Summary: Futurish and sort of AU: Gabpay - 'But I don't like sitting by the window', 'Me neither' - She thought that what she had was good. But one person, if it's the right person, can change that. And it was exactly what SHE did-- in only a second.
1. Part One: One

**THE WINDOW**

**Part One**

**_One_ Can Be a Crowd**

Twenty seven-year-old Gabriella Montez did not know what was wrong with her today. Everything was going wrong, it seemed. She had gotten up too late and had therefore not managed to catch the bus she had told herself to take. She had rushed out of the flat she shared with her boyfriend for three years, Troy Bolton, in a vain attempt to actually make it – which she hadn't, of course, and therefore she had walked back to her apartment, only to realize that it was a good thing she hadn't caught the bus, because she was wearing two different shoes and no shirt beneath her zip-down jacket. Not to mention that she hadn't brushed her teeth, hadn't done her makeup, hadn't showered and hadn't had a thing for breakfast.

After locking herself into the apartment again, she found a change of clothes and went to take a shower. She couldn't even explain why taking the other bus was so important, because she actually had all the time in the world. _Really_. She was in no rush at all. It was Thursday and she didn't have work. Troy had practice this morning and straight after he was going to meet his best friend, Chad, who was getting married to his high school girlfriend, Taylor, on Sunday, and they had a lot of things they needed to take care of, so there was no telling when he would be home.

_Suits me fine anyway, _Gabriella mused to herself as she stepped into the hot shower, immediately letting the water cascade down her back and drench her hair. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Troy, because that was far from it, but sometimes she just really needed time to herself. The only thing on her agenda today was to pamper herself – that was why she had wanted to get to the mall early, because what was a better place than the mall for pampering? -, and she had planned to buy herself a few new outfits (including a new dress for the wedding on Sunday), get her nails done and stuff like that. She wouldn't know what time she'd be home, so it was wonderful that Troy wouldn't be expecting dinner.

Gabriella rinsed out her shampoo and quickly reached for the bottle with conditioner as she hummed softly to herself. She had always loved singing and it had come in handy for her. She wouldn't have met Troy if they hadn't both loved to sing. She knew it sounded crazy that a professional basketball player like Troy could carry a tune, but he was quite the singer, and as it turned out – he had once been one out of four to get a scholarship at Julliard. He hadn't gotten one, which was pretty alright too, because otherwise she wouldn't have met him.

He had gone to the University of Albuquerque to play ball with Chad after high school, but had also managed to have time to help out the local community theater; he had been acting, singing, doing props and all that stuff. He had spent a lot of time helping out down there, which was lucky since – well, since one of the first things Gabriella did, when she moved to New Mexico to be with her mother at the age of twenty three, was joining it as well.

Her mother had moved to New Mexico when Gabriella started at Stanford to study prelaw, and as soon as Gabriella was done there, she moved to Albuquerque as well to be near her mother since it was only the two of them and it was hard to be apart. But it was her luck really, she found an okay job and met Troy during the first week in town. It was kind of like love at first sight. It was really weird since Gabriella had never really had a boyfriend or anything, but she just felt this connection with Troy and they started dating pretty quickly after their first meeting. Things had only blossomed from there and now they had been together for three years, were living together and they had a nice relationship.

Gabriella turned the water off and stepped onto the cold tiles, reaching for a towel to dry herself off with. She bent her head and started drying her long hair while she wondered about herself and Troy. She was pretty content in this relationship, they were good, they were, but she was… well, kind of bored at times. She felt like she hadn't really done the things she wanted to. And she hated being stuck here in New Mexico. She got a lot of great job offers from around the world and she would love to take them. She just wasn't sure how to tell Troy. She knew they would never make a long-distance relationship; there was no way they could handle that, they weren't strong enough, and Troy wouldn't go for it – he would break things off with her and she really wasn't ready to lose him. She wasn't even sure if a job was worth losing him for, she was just… curious.

When Gabriella was done drying her hair off she stood up and stared at herself in the slightly fogged mirror. Her eyes scanned her entire body, from the collarbone, down her breast, to her hips, to the center between her legs. She had never had much fat on her body but she definitely wasn't skinny either. She turned to stand with her side facing the mirror and lifted up in her breasts slightly. They were alright too. Making a face she dropped them again and reached for the towel yet another time to dry off her body.

When she was dressed, Gabriella went into the kitchen again to make some coffee; she decided to take her time now. It didn't matter which bus she caught – she'd have all the time in the world anyway. She found a note on the table from Troy, telling her that he would probably get a pizza with Chad since Taylor had a meeting with one of her friends about music for the wedding; two of their high school friends had started up a band that played for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and so on. They would be the entertainment at the Danforth-McKessie wedding while also being on the guest list.

Gabriella didn't really eat in the mornings so she went into their bedroom to get her makeup done and fix her hair so she would be ready to go as soon as she had finished off her coffee. It was only ten thirty so she'd have plenty of time to find a proper and flattering dress (plus shoes and accessories – a girl's gotta have her fun!) without getting completely stressed out.

When everything seemed acceptable when she looked in the mirror, Gabriella turned to the clock by her bed and saw that there was twenty minutes until the next bus where there. It was just down the street from her flat so it didn't take more than five minutes to walk, so it was perfect timing on her behalf. She made sure she had everything she might need in her handbag before she went into the kitchen to drink her coffee and really wake up. It was still very hot when she poured it, so she went to find proper shoes. She would be walking a lot so high heels was not a good choice; on the other hand though, she wouldn't really want to wear sneakers to the mall. Since she was wearing a pair of ordinary jeans and a top she figured that ballerina shoes was a good choice – they were simple and black and matched everything well; including the zip-down jacket, which she now would have something underneath.

She checked the time again and went into the kitchen to finish her coffee. She didn't know what it was with her, but it was like… no matter what she did, she always ended up having to hurry. Downing the cup she almost burned her tongue, but she shook it off, grabbed her stuff and rushed into the hallway. She dug her hand into her bag and searched for the keys which took about a minute, and then she quickly locked the door and fled down the stairs.

Despite everything – she really was in a good mood today. Of course she was, a day of shopping, even for a serious lawyer like her, was always enough to make her happy. She pondered about which restaurant to eat lunch at as she walked down the sidewalk, but she couldn't really decide because there was so many different ones. She would have to go to one of the ones Troy didn't enjoy because the other ones they regularly went to.

As she arrived at the bus stop, she saw the bus in the distance and was glad that she made it without actually having to run this time and almost bounced into the filled bus behind a teenage couple (who were clearly skipping school) and an old lady. She looked down the isle between the seats and hated that these city busses had fewer seats than regular busses. It just sucked, but it was probably because the old people had to have room for all their stuff, and the mothers had to have room for their babies. When the couple and the old woman had taken a seat Gabriella could only see one vacant seat in the back of the bus, and as it took off, she made her way down there while keeping herself steady by grabbing the seats.

A blonde woman was sitting in the seat near the isle and Gabriella figured she'd just ask her to scoot over and everything would be fine. It was sort of a long drive through the city because Albuquerque was big so she really didn't want to stand up the entire ride. When she stopped in front of the seat, the blonde woman looked up and Gabriella locked eyes with her; surprised. She had never seen such brown eyes before, it was kind of breathtaking.

"Can I help you?" the blonde woman asked with a kind smile, and Gabriella couldn't help but think that this woman was one of the most beautiful people she had ever met – no lie. There was just something about her, and it struck the Latina, even if she had just known of this woman's existence for about thirty seconds.

At first Gabriella didn't answer, but then she blinked slightly and finally said, "I eh… I was just wondering if I could have a seat?" she couldn't help but giggle slightly after her sentence because she had never seemed more foolish in her own eyes – today really wasn't a good day for her, it seemed.

The blonde smiled warmly at her, "But of course!" she cheered, and reached for her bag, which had been lying on the seat next to the window. She then took a hold of the side of the seat and stood up. With one food on the isle, Gabriella stopped her,

"No, no, I…" she smiled at the blonde because this woman was sweet and she rarely experienced that these days, "I don't have to have _that _seat-" she motioned for the window seat, silently hoping that she really would scoot over, because for some reason, Gabriella hated the window seat, "-you can just move over, that's totally fine."

The blonde paused for a second before she looked up at Gabriella with glistening brown eyes, "But I don't like sitting by the window." She whispered, a smile playing across her pink lips.

Gabriella paused, "Me neither." She then revealed, before the both of them broke into a fit of giggles.

A few seconds later the blonde moved away from the seat totally and held out her hands in a playful manner, so Gabriella knew where to go, "I was here first." She teased her with a saying look in her eyes, and Gabriella knew that she was right, so she moved in, sat down and placed her handbag in her lap.

"I'll just have to focus my attention elsewhere during the ride, then." She told the other woman, as she moved in and sat down at her seat again.

She looked at Gabriella with a smirk, "I think I can help you with that." She said, then held out her hand and continued, "I'm Sharpay by the way."

Gabriella shook the hand and felt like getting back at her, "Hi Sharpay by the way, I'm Gabriella."

Sharpay raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on the joke, in stead she leaned her head back and said, "So where are you getting off? If I have to entertain you I'll have to make sure my stop is not before yours."

Gabriella focused her entire attention on Sharpay because if she turned her head and looked outside she was sure she'd have to puke, "I have my entire day devoted to shopping at the Albuquerque mall."

"Wow." The blonde said and let her brown eyes go big, "Me too!" she then laughed.

Gabriella had never thought it would be so easy to talk to a complete stranger but she actually found it nice and kind of familiar to talk to this woman. It was strange, but she liked it and she was sure that it would be a good ride to the mall, "What are you shopping for? My best friend is getting married on Sunday and I really need a new dress."

Sharpay moved slightly in her seat and popped both knees onto the seat in front of her and rested comfortably, "I'm in New Mexico to help out my brother and his wife with this job they're doing. I have to get a new dress for that, I live in New York, originally I am from here, but work's there, so…" she trailed off.

"What do you work with?" Gabriella quickly asked. She didn't know what it was, but she just wanted to talk to this woman and get to now more about her. She was intriguing, she really was.

The blonde looked around slightly and leaned in closer, "I'm an actress." She whispered.

Gabriella pulled back slightly and searched her face. If she was an actress, she had got to have seen her in something. Mentally scanning every movie she had seen recently, she tried to place her face but couldn't, no matter which movie she went through.

"You're trying to place me, aren't you?" Sharpay questioned, a glint in her eye.

Gabriella immediately felt bad for doing that. Perhaps Sharpay hadn't gotten her big break yet and therefore Gabriella hadn't seen her in anything. _Nice one, just make a complete stranger feel bad, Montez_, Gabriella scolded herself. "Yeah…" she softly trailed off.

Sharpay giggled lowly, "You can't do that. I don't do movies. I'm on Broadway."

Gabriella almost felt her eyes pop out of her head by that new information. Sharpay seemed quite young, but at this rate nothing would surprise her with this woman – she seemed capable of anything, Gabriella was sure of that. "Broadway? Wow!" she gushed.

Sharpay bit her lip and had a dreamy look in her eyes for a few seconds before she said, "It was always theater or no acting for me. Being a movie-actress wasn't gonna do it. It was the stage or nothing." She explained in a deep voice. Suddenly she seemed to bounce back and become giddy again, "But what about you? What do you work with?"

"I work at a law firm." Gabriella explained and felt like a complete bore next to this amazing woman, "I went to Stanford and I could probably find something much better if I wasn't stuck in this town with my boyfriend. He's a professional basketball player and has to stay here – well, except for when he's out playing, y'know?"

Sharpay nodded her head, "I always found law so exciting. I mean – just imagine, you're fighting against all evil in this country, you should be proud."

Gabriella had never really looked at it that way, but she felt herself blush slightly by the nice comments coming out of Sharpay's mouth. At least she didn't feel so boring after all. "Thank you." She then softly said.

Sharpay waved it off, "No problem. Sometimes I need my twinnie to tell me that what I do has importance as well. Y'know like, when there's one evening when I screw up and I start doubting my entire career. I always just call him and he starts talking to make me feel better. I think that's just life."

The only thing Gabriella wanted to comment on about that, was this, "Wow! You're a twin?"

Sharpay laughed, "Yeah, he's pretty great, Ryan. He still lives here, like I told you. It's hard being away from him. We had to part after high school though – I went to Julliard, got a scholarship. Ryan could have gone as well, Daddy could have paid his way out of it, but he didn't want to leave his girlfriend. It was a good choice too, they're still together, have two beautiful kids."

Gabriella smiled, "That's wonderful, seems almost perfect."

"They are perfect." Sharpay just replied.

Gabriella quickly gazed out the window to see how far they were and was surprised to realize how quickly time had went by in this woman's company. She turned back to the blonde and felt like a suggestion, "Hey? If you're looking for a dress and I'm looking for a dress… Why don't we look together?"

Sharpay winked at her, "I'd really like that."

The bus came to a stop and Sharpay got off of her seat so they could get out and into the fresh air. Safely on the ground where Gabriella was so sure they really belonged, she said, "What kind of dress are you looking for?"

"I don't know." Sharpay explained, as they took off down the sidewalk; there was a couple of minutes' walk to the mall, "I own so many dresses, but they almost seem too formal for this job. I'm not quite sure though. Ryan said something black, since that's what they're wearing anyway…"

Gabriella laughed, "Well," she said, "let's just see what we can find."

--

"Oh, that's rich!" Sharpay laughed as she stared at Gabriella through the mirror – she had nervously entered the dressing room Sharpay was changing in because she needed an opinion, but as she saw Sharpay's face in the mirror, she couldn't help but laugh herself.

That dress was just not flattering on her… on _anyone_ really, Gabriella suspected.

She made a face, "I think I need to take this off, don't you?"

Sharpay nodded stiffly in the mirror and moved a hand up to brush her hair back; exposing her neck. It caused Gabriella to pause on her way out and really look into the mirror; Sharpay was dressed in a black dress, simple and elegant; it went to about her knees, had a little bit of this and that underneath which made it flow nicely, it clung to her upper body beautifully, and Gabriella felt like looking at her forever.

Sharpay turned around to look at her with a glint in her eye, "This is good, is it not?"

"If you don't buy it I might have to kill you." Was Gabriella's response, before she giggled lightly and reached a hand out to brush across Sharpay's exposed shoulder; it felt weird to be so comfortable with someone she had just met, but it was nice… she felt really awesome being with Sharpay. It was like when she first met Troy – an instant connection, chemistry like never before. It was just weird to experience it with another female; plus, she kind of still had Troy.

Sharpay's back did a squirm beneath her fingernail and the blonde paused, still, looking at her with intensity, "Before you do anything to make me want you, I think you might want to know that I'm a lesbian."

Gabriella's hand fell from Sharpay's ivory skin to hang by her own side. She wasn't disgusted by it, she had no problems with gay people, she just didn't know what to do about Sharpay. She felt… so weirdly attracted to her and it had never happened before with a woman – it actually rarely happened at all. She didn't just fall for people, she wasn't just attracted to them, but for some reason, even if she had a loving boyfriend at home, she still wanted to close the door to this dressing room, push Sharpay up against the wall and do things she had never thought she'd do.

She sighed though and took a step back; no ruining her relationship today – she would never see Sharpay after this and it wasn't worth it, it couldn't be worth it, "Okay." She said, took another step so she was outside and then swallowed loudly, "I'm just gonna go change."

Sharpay reached out for her hand and therefore stopped her. Their eyes locked and the blonde gave her a look, "You've got a boyfriend and I want to fuck you so bad… it's not a good combo." She laughed nervously, laughter rolling off her tongue.

Gabriella blinked, "No, not really." She sternly said, found this situation so unbelievably weird that she almost couldn't handle it.

"How about I get out of this dress and help you find one as well?" Sharpay suggested, finally dropping Gabriella's hand (but the Latina still didn't move), "Today has been great so far, and I'd really like to continue to have fun… I – I have a girlfriend anyway."

Gabriella liked the idea. She wasn't sure how to feel about it; knowing that they both wanted to explore this quick and needy attraction, knowing that it would be so easy to go to her apartment because Troy wasn't there, knowing that she could try it out with this strange woman and then go back to her safe haven when she was done. She wasn't sure about anything with this woman, but it was probably the best idea to just try to act like friends and just forget the attraction they had for each other, just – go shopping and have fun.

She swallowed again and said, "I saw a red one in the other end of the store. I think I'm gonna go get that one."

Sharpay didn't move, "Red'll look good on you." She just said, before she closed the door between them to change and Gabriella got a whiff of air in her face because of the quick movement.

She stood there for a few seconds, not quite ready to snap out of it. She was just struck by the entire day, the way everything seemed to happen so fast, to change her so quickly in ways she wasn't sure she wanted to be changed. She closed her eyes and breathed softly in, ready to act normal and go get that dress. But as she opened them again, Sharpay was right in front of her; all dressed in her own clothes, jacket thrown across one arm, bag in the other.

"What the crap are you doing?" the blonde questioned, wonderment written across her face.

Gabriella almost jumped into the air in surprise, but instead she shook her head, "How the fuck did you change so quickly?"

Sharpay made a face, saying that clearly Gabriella was nuts, "I'm an actress, duh. We have to change very fast at times. That was like… super-slow for me."

Gabriella shook her head and turned around to go find the dress, Sharpay stopped her though,

"I'll go find it. You go get out of that one." She ordered in a snappy voice and loaded all her stuff into Gabriella's arms, and the poor Latina stumbled into her changing room as Sharpay went off to find a red dress. She dropped Sharpay's things on the floor and turned around to guide herself through to mirror and to the zipper. She got the zipper down and squirmed out of the dress; letting it drop to the floor, not minding if it got dirty – it was ugly anyway.

She heard a knock on the door and opened it slightly, afraid to expose herself fully to Sharpay; afraid to ruin something – even if she wasn't sure what. Sharpay seemed to be thinking alike though, because she gently got the dress through the small crack and when Gabriella had it in her hand, she slipped her arm out and let the door fall shut.

Gabriella kept quiet and changed into the red dress as quickly as possible. When she had it on, she studied her own appearance in the mirror for a few seconds and nodded to herself in approval – she looked good. Red had always been a good colour on her, as Sharpay so quickly had seen right before. She turned around and checked her backside in the mirror too (also awesome), before she grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. Sharpay immediately looked up when she stepped outside and the grin on her face couldn't have been bigger.

Gabriella spun around a couple of times and the blonde woman let her eyes search Gabriella completely; which when Gabriella had gotten used to it at first, actually felt pretty nice. Sharpay then crossed her arms in front of her chest and said, "Nice Gabriella. I think you should wear this to that wedding."

Gabriella looked down herself and tried to get control of her smile, before she looked up again, "I look nice, don't I?"

"Very." Sharpay firmly agreed.

Gabriella thought about it for yet another second as she turned to look into the mirror in the changing room again; there was something about this dress. It was just so perfect for her. She turned back to Sharpay with a glint in her eye, "How about I change back, we pay and then get something to eat?"

Sharpay nodded immediately, "Deal." She said, before she teasingly checked her watch and pointed at one of the chairs for the husbands who were dragged to watch their wives try on clothes for two hours, "I think I'll just take a seat then. Who knows how slow you'll be changing back?"

Gabriella reached out to hit her, but only caught the air, before she went into the changing room again, grinning madly. She couldn't help herself. Even if she wasn't supposed to, she felt herself like Sharpay more and more – and that definitely wasn't good at all…

…was it??

--

So lunch was kind of… different. Yeah, yeah, different was the word for it. Gabriella had thought that maybe Sharpay would have wanted to go some place fancy, but in stead she had said that she wanted to go to this pizza place that she and her brother used to go to all the time when they were in high school.

So there they were – eating lunch.

Gabriella had never really been much of a pizza eater; neither burgers nor tacos, it really just wasn't her thing. But this pizza tasted kind of nice, it actually did. And it was enjoyable to be out having lunch with Sharpay because she quickly learned that she wasn't bored with her at all.

Right now, Sharpay was glancing around the entire place, while chewing loudly on her pizza slice. Gabriella cocked her eyebrows together and shot Sharpay a funny look when the blonde turned her head that way.

"What?" Sharpay questioned and dropped the slice to her place, "I mean… No one knows me here. If I was in movies I couldn't have been here with you like this – and I definitely couldn't eat like this, so I might as well enjoy that I can."

Gabriella chuckled and reached for a French fry from the plate they shared together, "You're so weird."

Sharpay shrugged, "Soon enough I might not be able to."

Gabriella chewed and said, "What do you mean?"

Sharpay took three fries at once and stuffed them into her mouth, followed by a big sip of coke, "I've been talking with my agent about getting out a record. The soundtracks I did from Chicago and Wicked have been pretty successful, and a record has always been another dream of mine."

Gabriella placed her elbows on the table and couldn't help but listen intensely as Sharpay spoke; it was like there was nothing this woman couldn't do – _Sure, be on Broadway, no problem! How about a record? That sounds like fun!_ Gabriella couldn't really comprehend that anyone had a life like that; it seemed so far away from the life she led. "Really? What do you wanna sing?"

"Ballads, mostly, I think." Sharpay said and looked into her plate, "I mean… I've only done show tunes, so far. But I think that I could really do it, y'know?"

Gabriella stuck out her tongue, "I wouldn't know, I haven't heard you sing – but it seems likely that you could." She teased her. It was the truth though; was there really anything that Sharpay couldn't do?

Sharpay bowed her head, "Thank you."

That caused Gabriella to giggle again because she simply couldn't help herself. Sharpay smiled widely from across the table, but looked down when suddenly her purse started ringing. Gabriella stopped laughing and reached for another slice of pizza as Sharpay got a hot pink cell phone out of her purse.

"My brother." She quickly explained, before she flipped the phone open with a roll of her eyes and said, "Yo twin!" she giggled and Gabriella covered her own mouth to hide her laugh, "No, I can't greet anyone normally, you should know by now." She made a funny face as her brother spoke, before saying, "I'm at the mall with Gabriella. Why?" she paused again and held out her hand and moved the fingers together and apart as to explain to Gabriella that he talked a lot, "Gabriella is… Gabriella…" another pause, "I don't know. I just met her, goof." She giggled loudly, before saying, "Oh really? I'll go outside right now." And then she hung up her phone and threw it in her bag.

Gabriella already knew that she had to leave, she could tell so by the conversation she'd just heard one part of, but still she said, "What?" because she didn't really want it to be true – she wanted to spend more time with Sharpay, she didn't want this day to end so soon.

Sharpay shot her an apologetic smile, "I have to go meet my brother right outside. We have to pick up his kids, I promised them yesterday to spend some time with them."

Gabriella nodded softly, quickly bummed out because of the news, but she knew that it couldn't be different. Of course Sharpay wouldn't want to blow off her brother's kids because of a woman she had just met. "No need to explain. I had a nice time today…"

Sharpay pulled her wallet out of her purse and placed a bunch of cash on the table, "That should cover lunch." She said, and before Gabriella could object because she wanted to pay her own food, she continued, "I want to, I do. You've made my day much better, so thank you for that."

Gabriella closed her mouth and leaned back in her chair, watching the other woman as she pushed her chair back, got on her jacket and got a hold of all her things. She stood up then, to give the blonde a proper goodbye. "So yeah… Goodbye Sharpay by the way." She couldn't help but say.

Sharpay smiled lovingly at her and leaned in close, "Goodbye Gabriella." She whispered, and before Gabriella knew what happened, Sharpay had placed a short kiss on her lips; quickly, wonderfully. Gabriella almost didn't have time to soak in her dream before it was gone and Sharpay winked at her, "I just had to do that, I just did." She said, before she stroked Gabriella across the cheek and turned around and left the restaurant.

* * *

_Hello everyone! Thanks for tuning in. After a while where I've been writing mostly Hannah Montana, I've decided to give this idea a shot because who can say no to a good Gabpay? I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. This story won't be too long, but I can't wait to write more on it, since I'm really excited about it. I can't promise regular updates because of school, but I'll do my best._

_Please drop off a review and tell me what you thought?_

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own High School Musical._


	2. Part One: Two

**THE WINDOW  
****  
Part One **

**And So **_**Two**_** is Much Better – That's Never a 'Crowd'**

Now, Sharpay couldn't say this for sure, but she was quite positive that she had never thought about anyone as much as she had thought about Gabriella since she first met her. Not in her entire life had she thought of Ryan as much – and she had known him since they shared a womb. It was quite maddening, actually. She would never see this woman again, she was just a quick encounter, someone fun to spend a day with, there was nothing more to it, and yet… there had been something between them.

She knew that Gabriella wasn't gay and that she had a boyfriend and all that crap, but it didn't matter to her. She knew what she felt that day in the dressing room and it was a mutual feeling that she was certain about. Everyone's straight until they're not, and maybe Gabriella hadn't realized it yet. Not that it would matter anyway, because she would never see her again.

_Never. _

That word quite stung Sharpay's heart as she looked into the mirror in Ryan and Kelsi's guestroom where she currently stayed. She was content with that because it was only for another day or two. She had a nice apartment back in New York and she actually couldn't wait to get back to work again. She had had the entire week off from rehearsals, but it wasn't good because there were only a few weeks until opening night and she felt like she wasn't really ready.

Sharpay sighed loudly and pinned up in her hair. She wasn't sure what to do with it. Both Kelsi and Ryan would be wearing hats, as usual, but she wasn't really that into hats. It was their thing and she was seriously considering just wearing her hair down. She'd have to do something with it though, maybe pin some of it up, curl it, straighten it, put a buckle in it? Another sigh escaped her lips as she bent down to dig through her hair and makeup bag. She had stuff in there as if she would be gone for months, but she could never control herself with these matters.

She couldn't help but squeal slightly when she found a black bandeau with a black flower on the side on the bottom of her bag. It would go nicely with her dress and decorate her hair just enough. She'd just curl it slightly and be presentable. She stood up and went to find her curling iron in her suitcase. Luckily she had brought that as well (because one never knows!), and quickly turned it on. While waiting for it to heat up, she might as well do her makeup.

As Sharpay sat down in front of the mirror, her mind again went to Gabriella. She couldn't help it. There was just something so special and amazing about this woman. She had a certain air around her, and Sharpay had felt it the minute they locked eyes for the first time. She had never seen a more breathtaking person – and she'd seen some people! She was an actress, for God's sake, she was up to her knees in beautiful people. But Gabriella… Gabriella she really took the cake.

Sharpay couldn't help but imagine how perfect it would have been like to be with her. To run her hands through the curly raven hair, to kiss those perfect lips and touch that amazing body. She could almost imagine that lithe butt beneath her hands and as she reached out as if to touch it, she could almost feel the softness of it, the Goosebumps that rose on her arms and the tingle in her lower region. She could almost-

"What are you doing, Pay?"

Sharpay snapped out of it and turned her head to the side in surprise. Her niece had come into her room silently and was now standing right next to her, looking into the mirror. Sharpay hadn't even felt her presence, which was really scary. Sharpay swallowed loudly and whispered, "I was- I was just falling asleep." She quickly said.

Denise giggled madly, "But it looked like you were reaching out for stuff!" she squealed.

Sharpay placed an arm around her side and pulled the young girl close, "Maybe I was dreaming!" she said, hoping that this part of their conversation would soon be over. She kissed the blonde girl's curly mane and said, "What are you doing in here? Are you all ready to go?"

Denise took a step back to show off herself. For today she was dressed in a purple dress with flowers, white shoes and a cute, little, white purse to complete the outfit. It looked very cute, Sharpay had got to admit that.

"Mom said for me to tell you to do my hair!" Denise continued with a happy smile across her face. Sharpay knew how much her nephew and niece looked up to her. Especially Denise – she thought that Sharpay was the coolest person in the universe and Sharpay hated that she didn't see them more than she did; it made her feel so bad. She really ought to visit more.

She arched an eyebrow, "Oh did she, now?"

Denise nodded her head yes, just as Kelsi pushed her head through the crack in the door, "You'll do it, yes?" she said, and Sharpay heard Matthew – her nephew – squeal right outside, so she suspected that Kelsi was having troubles with him, and Ryan? Psh, he was still in the shower.

Sharpay reached for her comb as if to show Kelsi that she was ready, "Of course I will!" she said, and didn't tell her sister-in-law that she wasn't even ready to go herself.

"Thank you." Kelsi said, and then she was gone again – gone to deal with Matthew.

Sharpay stood up from the chair and lifted the six-year-old girl onto it instead. She bent down then, and looked into the mirror to lock eyes with her, "How did you want your hair to be?" she questioned, knowing that Denise, being an opinionated girl, probably had something in mind.

She smiled widely and Sharpay could see the hole where she was missing a front tooth, "Could you do it in a French braid? And then – I have these diamond thingies – then you can put them into it to make it look really pretty?"

Sharpay stroke her niece across the arm, "Sure, whatever you want, honey. Where are these diamond thingies then?"

Denise quickly reached for her purse, opened the buckle and turned it over, which caused all the things inside it to fall onto the table. Sharpay quickly realized that the things were all diamonds for her hair. Denise smiled again, "THERE!" she loudly said, very proud of herself.

Sharpay smiled right back at her, "Alright sweetie, let's get started on this."

She begun to comb Denise's wild curls. She didn't have too many so it was still possible to braid her hair if Sharpay used lots of Barbie pens and a good amount of hairspray. It would take some time though, but she'd just have to swing it and still get herself ready. Just as she was about to start braiding, Matthew came walking slowly into the room, supporting himself against everything he could reach. Sharpay couldn't help but aw when she saw him. He looked too cute! He was wearing a small tux and a tie.

Kelsi came right after, his small shoes in hand. She gave the girls a quick smile and sat down on Sharpay's bed with Matthew on her lap, to give him his shoes on. "How's it going?" she breathed out, after having had to run around the house to catch her son who – without a doubt – had as many opinions on things as his sister did.

"We are braiding." Sharpay replied. It wouldn't take long to make the actual braid, because that she was good at. It was rescuing all the run-away curls that would take some time.

Kelsi looked at them as she forced a shoe onto Matthew's left foot, "Great, I'm so glad you're here to help us Sharpay. I only told Taylor it'd be you, I think she wants to scare the shi-" she paused when she realized the kids were right there, "I think she wants to scare Chad when he sees you. It's gonna be so much fun!"

Sharpay couldn't help but laugh as she started to pin hair up. She hadn't really thought much about what it would be like to see everyone again; she actually hadn't really thought about the fact that most of them would be there today because they pretty much all still talked, "Well, at least I'm not gonna order them around today." She simply said.

And Troy… she was going to see Troy again. Talk about weird. She used to chase him around and stalk him because she wanted to be with him. And then when they finally did date… It hadn't been that pretty. So embarrassing, much? Oh yes.

Kelsi looked up at her again with a weird look in her eyes, "I actually wanted to ask you about something Sharpay."

"Sure," the blonde said, a little out of it because there was a particular curl that didn't really want to sit where she wanted it to, "what is it, Kels?"

Kelsi let Matthew drop to the floor and the small guy quickly stood up and tried to see if he could walk out of there. Unfortunately (for him) he could only reach the bed from there so it wouldn't get him very far, "You've been acting sort of strange these past days. Something on your mind?"

Sharpay didn't really know what to say to that. She knew she hadn't really been herself after meeting Gabriella, but she couldn't help it – the Latina was so, so _in_ her head. She took one final look at Denise and lifted her off the chair, "Done sweetie, go find your father."

Denise nodded wildly and hurried out of the room to find Ryan. Sharpay instead took a seat and started to sort through her makeup; she was just going to do it slightly dark, but not too much.

"Sharpay!" Kelsi said, voice determined behind her. There was nothing Sharpay could hide from that woman, not after so many years of knowing her.

Sharpay stared at her through the mirror as she did her makeup, "I know I've been acting strange, but I… I have something on my mind, Kelsi, and I can't help it."

Kelsi stood up and lifted Matthew off the floor, supporting him at her hip, "What is it, Shar?" she paused, before a big smile erupted on her face and she sounded cheery, "Are you in love?"

Sharpay didn't answer, she closed her eye and tried to place an even black line on it.

"You're in love!" Kelsi concluded from the lack of response.

Sharpay sighed and let her hand fall. She turned around to look at Kelsi again, still with one eye closed so it could dry, "I don't know if I'm in love, alright? I've only met this woman one time in my life. And it was right here in this town. I'll probably never see her again, I just need some time, alright?"

Kelsi looked surprised for a few seconds, before she said, "You met her here?"

"Yes."

"Right here in Albuquerque?"

"Yes."

"Your perfect woman?"

"Yes!"

"Wow." The small pianist looked thoughtful for a second or two, "That's something. I really wish you'd find someone soon, Shar. You deserve happiness and you're so gorgeous. Anyone would be lucky to have you."

Sharpay smiled warmly at her, "Thanks, Kelsi, for trying to cheer me up… I just can't wait to get back on stage. It'll take my mind off of things."

Kelsi smiled sincerely at her, "Well, at least today will be fun."

Sharpay turned to the mirror again and looked at herself in it, not quite sure if she was ready to see everyone again, "Yeah," she nodded, more to herself than to Kelsi, "today will be _fun_." She firmly said.

--

There were people in every direction Sharpay turned.

She couldn't quite comprehend it – she was used to having lots of people around so it wasn't that; it was more the fact that she actually knew quite a lot of these people, could recognize them from back then at East High, and it wasn't a nice feeling, because they knew how she was back then, and she had quickly learned, after leaving New Mexico, that being a drama queen would not get her anywhere in showbiz. She'd have to work harder.

Her, Kelsi, Ryan and the kids hadn't been to the church where the ceremony was performed because they needed to set up on the small makeshift stage in the rented rooms, but it seemed like everything had gone well according to the smiles on everyone's faces as they entered the room.

Kelsi and Ryan were still setting up behind her and Sharpay had left the stage in the proclaims of doing a few warm-ups so her voice wouldn't strain. Denise and Matthew had already found some kids they knew and were busy running around with them. Sharpay was glad that this wedding wasn't fancier than kids were invited – she couldn't stand those parties were the kids of the family wasn't allowed because it was too fancy.

She turned her head to the side when she saw Troy Bolton's parents chat to what she meant had got to be Chad's parents. She hadn't seen them that much, but she was quite good at remembering faces so she was almost certain that it was them. She sighed and stared straight into the wall, almost regretting that she told Ryan that she would help them with this – it was almost too painful to see everyone again.

Ryan then jumped off of the stage and gave her a sideways hug, "You ready, sis?" he asked her in a cheery voice, and Sharpay loved him for being who he is. He had always been a great brother to her, but even after school he still managed to forgive her for all her crazy ideas and now their relationship was a very healthy and good one. "We have to go say hi to the people we know. I placed your gift on the gift table too, alright?"

She gave him a huge smile and swallowed loudly, "Alright." – it was time to face some of her demons.

"Ryan!" Kelsi exclaimed as she jumped off the stage as well, "I think I saw Chad and Taylor right over there. Let's go say hi!"

Ryan nodded and Kelsi and him laced hands, while Sharpay just followed silently behind them, hoping that no one would notice her presence. Luckily for her Taylor and Chad had many friends and family, so therefore the room was stuffed and her task went quite well.

"Guys!" Taylor happily cheered as she saw them approaching; she had just said goodbye to another family that had gone to greet her and now her face lit up greatly, "Hi!" she gushed as she hugged first Ryan and then Kelsi.

Chad gave them both a hug as well, "Man, I'm so happy you guys could do the music. It's much easier and we know it'll be good." He sincerely said to them, the smile in his eyes never once fading. He seemed really happy and Sharpay could tell that he was not doubting his wedding to Taylor – that this was truly what he wanted, and that he truly loved her.

Ryan put his hands in his pockets and continued to chitchat, "We're happy to do it. We love what we do and to do it for you guys is so awesome."

"Did you solve the problem with the singer?" Chad asked them, and Sharpay felt her moment coming on. She wasn't sure if she was ready, but maybe now was the time to announce her presence.

She stepped a few steps forward, in between Kelsi and Ryan and said, "I'm their singer for this evening."

Chad's eyes almost popped out of his head, but she soon found herself covered in white as Taylor gave her a huge hug. It was kind of weird because she had never once in her life hugged Taylor, but it also felt kind of good in a way – it was like admitting that they had all grown up and that high school was over and they had all been silly then. "Sharpay!" she squealed, and pulled back then, looking at her with a happy face, "It's been so long. It's so good to see you!"

"You too." Sharpay replied as they let their arms fall and parted, "And congratulations on the wedding, of course."

"Thanks." Taylor replied in a cheery voice.

Sharpay turned her head and looked at Chad; he still hadn't recovered yet from seeing her, but it was kind of nice to have done this, she felt. It was almost as if she hadn't thought of Gabriella since they got there to start working (only almost, for she always had her in the back of her head). "The pink check on the gift table is from me." she told him.

Chad blinked a few times, before he shook his head slightly and said, "Eh, okay… Hi."

"So how are you?" Taylor asked her.

Sharpay didn't really want to talk too much about herself today, but it would be rude to leave the conversation; she'd just have to talk to them for a few seconds, "I'm alright, thank you. I live in New York."

"Ryan says that you're on Broadway?"

"Yeah I am."

Taylor giggled, "So you did make it!"

Sharpay nodded, "I did, yes."

Taylor nodded too then, and was quiet for a few seconds, thinking. Then suddenly she spoke up again, "I have someone I want you to meet. It's one of my best friends, she's the greatest, I think the two of you will get along great – she's a crazy woman too."

Sharpay was not even offended by this, because she knew she was sort of crazy at times and that it could be a very positive thing. "That sounds cool, thank you Taylor." She said, truly sincere. It was nice for Taylor to think about that thing when they hadn't even spoken for so many years.

Just then Ryan broke into the conversation, placing a loving brother's arm around Sharpay's shoulder, "We should go and make sure we're totally ready to introduce you guys." He told the newlyweds with a huge smile on his lips.

Taylor smiled right back, "Sure, you'll meet her later, Sharpay."

Safely back with only Kelsi and Ryan, Sharpay excused herself to go use the restroom. She swore, she wasn't even this nervous when she had to go on stage at opening nights. Being nervous always had her peeing like crazy and this was like a high school reunion – she really couldn't take it. She crossed the room and went into the small hall in search for the bathroom. Her task was quickly through, but unfortunately for her there was only one bathroom and it was currently occupied. She leaned against the wall, staring at her feet. She rather liked the shoes she had picked out, but her feet would be killing her tomorrow.

When she heard a flush she stood up straight, ready to get her nerves out of her system. The door to the bathroom opened, and suddenly Sharpay found herself face to face with-

"Gabriella?"

The surprise written across the Latina's face was evident, but Sharpay did not take much notice to this; she couldn't help but love the way Gabriella's hair was particularly perfect in this sucky bathroom light, and that the dress they had picked out last Thursday was still perfect for her. "Sharpay?" she paused and pushed past Sharpay to get to the sink to wash her hands.

Sharpay stared at her back and couldn't help but admire her butt as she was slightly bent forward.

The brunette turned around again, one eyebrow raised, "What are you doing here?" she demanded to know, before she reached to the side for some paper to dry her hands. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but…" she curled the paper into a ball and aimed for the trashcan. She missed it.

Sharpay had forgotten all about peeing out her nerves, but stood there in awe in stead, staring at the girl she had thought about permanently since their first meeting, "I could ask you the same thing." She stated, though slightly amused. It was kind of odd that she would run into the potential love her life in a bathroom.

"This is the wedding I was telling you about." Gabriella explained, "Y'know? The reason I was looking for a dress. My boyfriend's best friend just got married."

Sharpay could not believe this. If this was true then Gabriella knew everyone she used to go to school with – she even knew Ryan and Kelsi and the kids!, "Fuck. My. Mother." Sharpay mumbled, letting each word out slowly, "You've got to be kidding me."

Gabriella looked slightly confused, which Sharpay had to admit looked cute on her, "Excuse me?"

Sharpay laughed slightly, "This is the wedding I'm singing at." she shrugged and took a step closer to the other woman, feeling as if this was perfect; not really thinking about her boyfriend, but more about how much potential this evening suddenly had, "My brother is Ryan." She explained.

Gabriella had pretty much the same reaction as Sharpay just had, when she had gotten two and two put together, "Fuck it!" she then laughed too and took a step forward to give Sharpay a small hug, "Wow. You're Ryan's twin? Well, I should've figured that out, shouldn't I?"

Sharpay couldn't help but love the feeling of Gabriella's skin against hers, but she didn't say anything, because she didn't want it to be weird between them, "I dunno, should you?" she softly replied.

Gabriella took a step back again and studied Sharpay for a few seconds, "So you know everyone, huh? Taylor? Chad? Even Zeke?"

"Oh I know them well. We went to school together. We weren't the best of friends, but…" she shrugged, not knowing what more to say.

Gabriella smiled again, the brown in her eyes lighting up perfusely, "You were in the drama club then, right? You must know my boyfriend!"

Sharpay crossed her arms, feeling slightly awkward by the mentioning of her boyfriend, but she tried not to let it show, "Your boyfriend?"

"Yeah!" Gabriella said, and Sharpay believed she sounded a bit unenthusiastic by the thought of him (but maybe that was just in her ears; silently hoping), "His name is Troy – Troy Bolton."

Sharpay felt like the breath had just been punched out of her by a big hit in the stomach. She stared at Gabriella, the other girl's smile was big and Sharpay could feel every bone in her body tense. As Gabriella probably realized that something was wrong, her smile seemed to fade slightly, and Sharpay was worried about what to say – she didn't _know_ what to say!

But the second after she swore she had never loved Taylor more, because right that moment she decided to enter the bathroom, and therefore Sharpay didn't have to speak, since the bride said it all, "Oh Sharpay!" she happily cheered, because that smile could not be wept off her face today, "This is Gabriella – the friend I was telling you about! She's dating Troy, can you believe it!?"

_No Taylor, _Sharpay thought as she pulled on the fakest smile of her lifetime, _I really can't believe she's dating Troy… My ex-boyfriend. _

--

When Sharpay finally came back to the stage, Ryan and Kelsi seemed pretty impatient.

"Where have you been?" Kelsi said, as she gave her a hand and pulled her onto the stage. "We have to introduce Chad and Taylor before they serve the first meal."

"Oh…" Sharpay said; introducing happy people where the furthest from her mind – she had real things to deal with, and after the news she just received, she really didn't want to be there anymore. She took in a deep breath, pulled herself slightly together and pulled Kelsi with her, out of view for the most of the room, "I've got a problem." She whispered.

Kelsi arched an eyebrow behind her glasses, "What? What is it?"

"She's here." Sharpay just said.

Kelsi seemed to get it immediately though, which was what Sharpay loved so much about their relationship – they could really understand each other, "The love of your life?"

Sharpay nodded, not quite sure if this was the place to freak out or not; it seemed pretty inappropriate. She just could not get over the fact that Gabriella was with Troy – he was her first love! Sure, they never had sex, because she had not once in her life slept with a male, but they'd definitely gone to second base, and it was just very disturbing for her to know that Gabriella was dating him now, "Yes! And you know her, Kelsi!" Sharpay continued to explain, "It's Gabriella."

Kelsi paused, thought for a second, before she chuckled, "Montez?"

"Yes, and don't laugh. _Please_!" Sharpay snapped.

Kelsi laughed though, a little bit louder even, "Fuck that! Gabriella Montez?" she shook her head which made all her curls bounce, "God! You know she's dating Troy Bolton, right?"

Sharpay just nodded stiffly, before she turned around to the front of the stage. She could hear Ryan and Kelsi getting ready behind her, and when Kelsi played the first sound on her keyboard, the entire room got quiet. Sharpay took the microphone in hand and immediately felt comfortable; this was her element, "Hi everyone, I'd like to welcome you to the Danforth/McKessie wedding." There was applause, and then she continued, "May I introduce everyone to Mr. and Mrs. Chad and Taylor Danforth!"

Chad and Taylor entered the middle of the dance floor and everyone gathered around them while Kelsi and Ryan played some melody. It only lasted for about a minute before Chad let Taylor go and Sharpay continued, "So now, if everyone would like to take a seat, dinner will be served soon." She said, and people immediately scrambled to find their seats.

Sharpay turned around to take a sip of her water bottle, but as she turned back to face the room, she found Troy Bolton standing on the floor in front of her.

"Sharpay Evans!" he said with a huge smile on his face.

Sharpay didn't really know how to feel about seeing him. They didn't end things badly and they had had a pretty good relationship filled with wonderful moments and good performances. She giggled lightly, "Troy Bolton." She said, and reached a hand out, which he took and therefore supported her as she stepped off the stage.

He gave her a once-over and nodded in confirmation, "Wow. You look good."

She smiled warmly and said, "And you look just the same.", before she leaned in and gave him a long hug; it felt kind of nice to be in his arms again, but she also knew why she was into women and not men – they were just so incredibly muscular, it did not feel nice to be squeezed to death that way.

"Hey guys."

Sharpay and Troy pulled away from each other and Sharpay felt her smile light up greatly when she saw Gabriella right there next to them. One look at her, and Sharpay was certain that this was the woman she was supposed to be with. It didn't matter that perhaps Gabriella didn't know it yet – she'd just have to figure it out.

Troy placed an arm around Gabriella, "Hey Gab. This is Sharpay. We used to go to school together." He explained to her in a kind voice.

"Nice to meet you." Sharpay stiffly said, pretending that they had not met before because she knew that that was much easier.

Gabriella gave her a slight nod as well, before she turned to Troy, "So, was she one of your theatre buddies in school?"

Troy chuckled loudly, "Are you kiddin' me? She's the reason I started singing, this one!" Troy explained, and Sharpay really wished that he would not mention their dating past. Sure, she was the reason he joined the drama department; he did it because she loved doing it, and eventually he started to really love it as well. But Gabriella didn't need to know that. There was really no reason for her to know that.

"Anyway…" Gabriella softly said, and for a second her eyes locked with Sharpay's; they were filled with questions and wonderment, and Sharpay couldn't read them fully, because she swore there was something else in there, but she wasn't sure what it was, "We better go find our seats. Nice to meet you Sharpay."

Sharpay nodded and couldn't help but watch the two of them as they turned to leave. Troy still had his arm around Gabriella and was almost leading her through the tables, and Sharpay couldn't help but wish that she had what Troy had – Gabriella seemed _so _perfect.

With that, she let out a sigh and went onto the stage again.

"You really like her, don't you?" Ryan questioned of out the blue.

Sharpay paused, wondering if she had told him about it, but immediately knowing that she hadn't. She then turned to Kelsi with a suspicious look across her face. 'Really?' she mouthed, not believing that Kelsi would have spilled the beans so quickly and without her permission.

Kelsi shrugged, "Hey, did you think I wasn't going to tell him? I tell him everything!" she whined.

"You've known for fifteen minutes!" Sharpay exclaimed, before she turned away from them to go get something else to drink.

--

As the day continued and turned into evening, Sharpay couldn't keep her eyes off Gabriella. Whenever she was in sight, Sharpay's eyes would just follow her until she couldn't see her in the crowded room anymore. She couldn't help herself, even if she knew it didn't matter. Gabriella seemed to be happy with Troy; they danced and mingled, and Sharpay couldn't see why she shouldn't be happy with Troy – he's a great guy! …if one's into that kind of thing, of course.

Sharpay had just finished a beautiful version of 'Because You Loved Me' for the father-daughter dance, when Gabriella stopped in front of the stage. She looked up at Sharpay, who bent down slightly to talk to her, "Can I see you outside for a minute?" the Latina suggested.

Sharpay was quite confused about why, but she still decided to tag along and see what Gabriella wanted; she could only hope that it was something good, even if that was a stupid thing to hope. What could it possibly be that she would want? Unless Gabriella suggested that they took off down the street, found the airport and boarded the first plane to Germany to be together, Sharpay couldn't see how it could be good.

Gabriella led them through the entire place until she pushed the doors open and the two women stepped outside and into the fresh evening air. Sharpay's first thought was that she would be needing a jacket, but as soon as Gabriella reached for her hand all other thoughts went flying out the window. The brunette led them to a bench where they sat down, Sharpay's right knee brushing against Gabriella's left knee, sending quick waves of electricity through the blonde's entire body.

"I needed to talk to you." Gabriella softly begun, looking Sharpay right in the eye.

Sharpay was now worried what this would be about; they probably had to talk about what happened yesterday. She probably wanted to clear the air completely in case they ever saw each other again. Sharpay knew it would be better if she just went out with it and said something, just apologised and it would all be good, "Look," she begun, could feel her tongue grow bigger insider her mouth, so she'd have to be quick if she didn't want to seem like such an idiot, "if this is about last Thursday, I'm really sorry I planted one on you, I thought I wouldn't see you again."

Gabriella laughed slightly and for a second Sharpay was confused, but then she saw the smile in Gabriella's eyes, and was much more calm; she could feel her tongue untie itself and swell down to normal size, "Don't worry, Sharpay, I just… It's not because of the kiss, I just really needed to talk to you, because well… I've been thinking about you pretty much 24/7 since I saw you for the first time."

Sharpay bit her lip. She was excited to hear this, it was good news, it really was, but… she knew that there was a 'but' somewhere in there, because good things like these didn't just happen to her without a catch or-or a 'but', "I've been thinking about you too, Gabriella… I really like you." she just said, not wanting to give out more of herself than necessary – she'd only end up getting hurt.

Gabriella nodded and softly pushed a curl out of her face, "I'm with Troy, though." She said, continued to talk in a soft and tiny voice, "And I'm not… I'm not really sure if I'm gay. Whether I might be into girls or not, it-it doesn't matter, 'cuz… Because I love Troy, and he's a great guy."

Sharpay could hear the doubt in her voice and she knew that this was a really confusing time for Gabriella. All gay women went through these doubts on the road from straight to gay; some of them never really got through. But the doubts were there, and perhaps Gabriella didn't want to take the risk. Sharpay shrugged slightly, tried not to let her hurt show, "It's alright, Gabriella…" she whispered, "I didn't expect anything from you, you know that."

"I know. Because you're such a great person."

Sharpay fiddled with her hands in her lap for a second or two, before she looked up at the other woman again, "Thank you." she said.

Gabriella shrugged, "No problem." She laughed and they both stood up, had to get back into the celebration for Chad and Taylor.

Sharpay held the door open for Gabriella to let her pass, "It was nice getting to know you, though." She informed her, as the door fell shut behind them.

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah, you too." There was a pause where they could only hear their heels clicking as they walked, "Actually… just so you know," Gabriella continued, stopping right before they entered the main room where everyone else was having a good time, "if I ever do decide to go gay, I'll definitely give you a call."

Sharpay couldn't keep the smile off of her face, "Good," she whispered and winked briefly at the Latina, "'cuz I don't really have a girlfriend. I'm single."

Gabriella laughed happily as they went inside and took each a different turn. Sharpay to her brother and sister-in-law on stage, and Gabriella into the arms of her boyfriend.

* * *

_I was certainly overwhelmed by the amount of support from you guys already after the first chapter, but I can't explain to you how happy it made me. I'm really excited to know that I've got readers like you. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as well. It didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it, but I think it took an okay turn, so I hope you agree. Please drop me off your thoughts about it._

_**Disclaimer; **__I don't own HSM. _


	3. Part Two: One

**THE WINDOW **

**Part Two**

**When _One_'s in the Big City, She Should Swing by Broadway**

If someone asked Gabriella what she thought about her life, approximately six months later, she wouldn't be sure about what to say. She would want to say that she was very happy. That she and Troy were as good as ever; that he had proposed to her two months ago and that she had accepted his request, and that they were happily planning their wedding. She wouldn't exactly be able to get those exact words across her lips, though. See, Gabriella had never been good at lying – or, simply twisting the truth, as Taylor liked to refer to it as -, and therefore she couldn't just say that things were fine.

Because she didn't feel like they were.

She wouldn't say that she was unhappy. She wouldn't say that she had stopped loving Troy and that he bored her to death. She would never say such things, because they weren't true either. No – she would simply start a sentence, based on her train of thoughts, and just try to explain all the confusion she had been feeling inside for the past six months. Because she had been confused. She had thought a lot about where she wanted to go with her own life, her own things, and she had wondered if she would be able to do those things if she was stuck in this marriage with Troy, living in Albuquerque. And she had come to the conclusion that… she probably wouldn't.

She just wanted more out of her life, she just wanted to live it and be able to get those things – those things she had studied so hard for at Stanford, those dreams she had had since she was a kid. Sure, she had always pretended to get married with her friends when she was in kindergarten, and that was an important dream as well. But when she really thought about it, when she contemplated what she wanted the most – she had got to choose the career, the amazing job, all the excitement and the journeys. She would really live her life, and she wanted to do that. She couldn't live her life stuck in New Mexico; she simply just wanted more.

Was that really too much to ask?

Well, she couldn't exactly get herself to tell Troy. She hadn't even been able to get herself to say no to him when he popped the question. It was kind of pathetic of her, but she really didn't want to hurt him. He had been there for her for so many years and he was such a great guy. But that wasn't enough, was it? Him being a great guy shouldn't be her reason for not going after her dream. She should still do that, shouldn't she? Still look after her dream-job and all the things she really wanted. Her mother told her that she should, so did Taylor. That was why she was in New York right now, going to an interview for a very important job; something that could really change her life.

Troy had been kind of weird when she told him that she would go after it. He had said 'But what about us? What about our relationship. We're getting married!', and Gabriella hadn't known what to say, she had taken his hand, locked their eyes and said something along the lines of, 'I know, Troy, but I've gotta do this. If we're strong enough, if we're important enough, then we'll figure it out'. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see if they were strong enough, if she even wanted to try this. But luckily enough for her, she wouldn't have to worry about that because she felt like her interview hadn't gone that great at all.

She had made a lot of stupid mistakes when she sat in front of this man who asked her questions. She had tried to answer them the best way possible, but she felt so out of place, and now she wasn't quite sure if New York was the right place for her. Though it had always been her dream to live in the big city, but when something like that happened, she felt really insecure and that just wasn't her thing. She had never really done such a big thing or been on her own – she'd have to start anew, and she'd probably lose Troy and that was a lot to happen at the same time.

Gabriella clutched her bag tightly as she made her way down the busy Manhattan street. She was so bummed out after her interview, she needed to do something. And she did not want to call Troy and tell him how it went when it went so badly. He'd just act all arrogant and secretly think 'I told you so' even if he wouldn't say it aloud. She'd know he'd be thinking it though, she would, because that was the kind of relationship they had. He wasn't mean to her or anything, but he was just really protective and kind and he watched out for her; actually just wanted the best for her.

Gabriella paused and tried to figure out what to do. It was only about three o'clock so she had a lot of time to kill before she had to figure out where to go for dinner. What would any girl want to do with time to kill in New York? SHOP! Gabriella wanted to shop; she had to bring something back, did she not? It was pretty certain that she would not get this job and therefore not get to live in this amazing city, and therefore it would be nice to bring something back to remember this trip by.

Walking down the street, Gabriella was certain that it was going to be a good day, even if she felt like her interview had gone horribly bad. The feeling was just in the air, and usually when her gut told her something it was right, so she always listened.

She looked down when she heard her cell phone buzz in her purse. Stopping to open the zipper she begged silently that it wouldn't be Troy's name flashing across that screen. She just couldn't handle talking to him right now, she would just snap at him and he did not deserve that – it wasn't his fault that this had gone badly.

She sighed in relief when the name of her best friend was on the display instead, "Taylor!" she said with a happy cheer, "Thank God it's you." she couldn't help but say too, even if she knew it would cause Taylor to question her about it.

And of course she did; Taylor had always been that way, so why would it be different right now?, "'Thank God'? Who did you expect it to be, Gab?" she chuckled at the end of the line.

And also – even if Gabriella knew that this would cause further questions from Taylor and more questions to answer on her own behalf, she also decided to tell her. She knew that Taylor had known Troy since high school, but she had only always been his friend because of Chad. Now the two of them... they were friends because they wanted to. They had so much in common and they understood each other. Gabriella knew she could tell Taylor all about it, because the other woman would not judge her and she would not tell on her.

So she huffed and placed her cell between her shoulder and ear while she zipped her purse again and continued down the sidewalk, "I thought it would be Troy." she harshly replied, voice edgy and short; she unintentionally let Taylor know just how tired she was of him right now. She continued, as she was finally able to hold her cell like a normal person – in her hand, "I do not wanna talk to him right now."

Taylor was quiet for a few seconds, before she softly said, "Did something happen between you two? I actually just called to hear about the interview, but now I wanna know more!" she whined.

Gabriella shook her head to herself and held back a giggle, "The interview sucked, and you can know more." she quickly stated. She was pretty sure she would feel much better if she got it off her chest.

"Then what happened!?" she half-shrieked, half-said, and almost didn't sound like an actual human being.

Gabriella stared at different shop windows as she passed them, making sure to see if there was something she wanted to check out better, "It's just Tay... I'm telling you, it's not really him. I don't wanna sound corny, but it's me, y'know? I feel like I wanna do more with my life. I just... I feel so bored."

She wasn't sure how else to explain it, so this was the best she could do. But she was sure that Taylor would get it, they just understood each other, and she was sure that Taylor felt that way once in a while too – at first Gabriella had thought that she was just in a phase, but when that continued to last, she figured that maybe she really wasn't.

Again there was a silence at the other end of the line, and Gabriella knew that Taylor would have to process the information, and therefore she just kept on walking down the sidewalk and stopped when she saw a cute pair of boots in a window.

Then Taylor made a funny sound and Gabriella smiled again because she knew she would be talking soon, "Eh... what do you mean, bored?" she quickly questioned.

Gabriella shrugged to herself and went into a store because she saw a fancy dress in the window she really liked, "Exactly that Taylor!" she said, voice firm, "Exactly the word, bored. There, I said it, I'm bored with Troy, alright?" she breathed out heavily and crossed the shop to the dress she had in mind so she could check it out closer. It felt kind of nice to have actually said this aloud to Taylor now, whether or not she'd ever do anything about it.

This time Taylor was much quicker to answer her, "Alright..." she mumbled, seemed a bit shocked, but Gabriella figured that was okay considering everything, "But what does that mean?"

Gabriella wanted to tell her that she had a perfect plan planned out for herself; about what to do with Troy, about what to do with herself and her life. But she didn't know, she didn't have, and it was very confusing for herself too, so she'd just have to go with the flow for right now and see where it led her – it was the only thing that made just a little bit of sense to her.

She reached for the perfect dress in her size and pulled it out, just as she replied to Taylor, "I don't know..." she whispered.

She should feel more sad, shouldn't she?

She probably should.

But she didn't.

- -

When Gabriella had bought the perfect, fancy dress (because it had simply looked too good on her to not buy), she thought that she deserved a break and a good cup of coffee. It was exhausting to try out a dress and figure out if it was worth the amount of money or not, but the conversation she'd had with Taylor before trying the dress had worn her out more than she had first assumed. She was tired and she just needed a caffeine kick.

She sat down at a café that caught her eye and filled the spare chair at her table with her purse and her bag. She had had to buy that dress. It was impossible for her to walk by something like that, and she'd have that special memory from her trip to the Big Apple – it made perfect sense, did it not?

She ordered a cup of coffee and just had to try this nutty-type-thing of a cake, and then she turned her chair slightly and decided to kill time by watching all the people on the sidewalk. It was a wonder really – people were so different, and Gabriella found great pleasure in watching all of them; she loved how some were tall and some were small, how some were skinny and how some were fat. It was amazing, it really was. She could do it all day, she loved the differences the most; that was what made life so funny and interesting. That was what made life great, that people were different, that they fell in love with opposites, that they fell in love with someone alike them; it was wonderful, it was thrilling, it was... life.

And everything Gabriella wanted it to be.

She glanced to the side again as the waiter placed a cup in front of her and she thanked him with a smile. Raising the cup to her lips for the first sip, her eyes wandered across the building, and she almost spit out her coffee, when she was reminded of something she had long ago decided to place in the furthest corner of her brain – Sharpay Evans.

There, on the wall, hang a poster of the most recent Broadway production of _Mamma Mia!_ - and who was on it? Why, Sharpay of course! There she stood, with blonde hair flowing, a huge smile on her lips, on a stage with a few other people – and she looked gorgeous, that was the first thing Gabriella took notice of, when she had gotten over the shock that it was to see her right there.

Gabriella had intentionally decided to move on from whatever it was that she had had with Sharpay. When she had had that talk with her outside at Taylor and Chad's wedding, it was simply because she couldn't comprehend what would happen if she not left it at what it was and just forgot it. Sharpay lived in New York as she had reasoned back then – and who knew what it was that they had? Maybe it was just curiosity from Gabriella's own side; she had no idea if she was gay or not, and Sharpay already knew that about herself. There was no saying that it would work out between them, that something would really happen for them, and she couldn't just go to New York and then just assume it would be them forever – be happy and in love. So it had been easier to just decide that it was nothing and then just live her life.

She hadn't exactly thought about what would happen if she did meet her again. And why would she really? Not once had she met her while she had known Kelsi and Ryan, so why would it happen only after the incident? Of course that would be unlikely, but as she stared at the big poster with the beautiful blonde on it, she thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

The Latina took another sip of her coffee and thought about how much fun she had had with Sharpay that day in the Albuquerque mall; it hadn't mattered what they did, everything was just fun with her. And God, that kiss... Gabriella hated to admit it, but she had probably thought a little bit too much about Sharpay's taste and her pouty lips than was healthy. She wasn't obsessed or anything, she had just often found herself thinking about it unintentionally, and it was a nice feeling, because it was so different from what she had experienced before. But it was also scary, for she wasn't sure if she was gay, and even if she had a feeling that she might just be at least bisexual for otherwise she wouldn't have thought so much about it, then she wasn't ready to admit it to herself, and that was scarier, because she didn't know how yet to _be_ gay.

Gabriella stared at the poster with a weird feeling in her body; it made her feel so warm and fussy – and happy – inside when she saw Sharpay. And even if she had done her best to forget the other woman, she felt slightly intrigued and actually wanted to see her again, just see her, she didn't have to talk to her, if she could just catch a glimpse of her, then maybe she would feel better and could go home and be with Troy without all these thoughts of a new job and another life.

Just then the waiter popped up next to her, "Refill?" he questioned with a charming smile in her direction.

But Gabriella was very distracted and she just lifted her cup even if she had rarely sipped it, "Uhm yeah..." she mumbled, her eyes still focused on the poster – on Sharpay's face.

The young waiter made a face, "Miss, I don't think that-"

Gabriella cut him off; she turned around to finally look at him and lowered her cup to the table, "Where can you get tickets to one of those plays?" she pointed behind herself with a thumb so he was sure what she was talking about.

He made a face, probably didn't want to chat more with her after his charming smile didn't work; he had other costumers to tend to since it was time for an afternoon cup of coffee, "Anywhere. Just go online." he stiffly replied.

Gabriella wasn't ready to let him leave just yet though, because she needed to know this; she'd have to go to the play tonight or tomorrow night since she was leaving early the morning after that, "What if I can't reach a computer? And I need to get a ticket? Where do I go?" she quickly rambled off, a where of how the waiter was tripping, trying to get away from her.

He shrugged, "Just go to one of the places that sells tickets, I dunno, there's one just down the street."

Gabriella offered him a thankful smile, said, "Thanks!" and turned away from him again to glance at the poster. She couldn't help but let her eyes linger on Sharpay's smiling brown eyes.

She was going to see _Mamma Mia!_ before she left for New Mexico again – that was for sure.

- -

Gabriella didn't know what it was, and why it was, but she felt very nervous when she entered the huge auditorium. There were so many seats and the stage was so big, she had no idea what she was doing there. She felt like she really didn't belong there. There was a lot of fancy people and even if she was wearing the dress she earlier on thought was so fancy – and made exactly for something like this – she still felt so out of place.

But she was not going to let herself get down because of that feeling. It didn't matter. What mattered was that she would be seeing Sharpay in just a few minutes and that made her feel really happy. She hadn't thought much about what Sharpay was like when performing, but she couldn't wait to find out. She had only heard her sing, not act, and it was going to be incredibly great to see.

As Gabriella found her seat, she could feel anticipation pricking in her fingertips.

- -

It was the most awesome thing Gabriella had ever done.

The experience of sitting in a room like that, so filled with people that were all in awe of what they were seeing on stage was just incredible. Not to mention that Sharpay was just breathtakingly wonderful in the part of Sophie. She hit all the half-notes that were so hard to reach and _so_ ABBA, and whenever she spoke, Gabriella felt like she lit up the entire stage and everyone was watching her with round eyes and admiration.

And as Gabriella entered the hall, she told herself that it wasn't in the plans, but that she just had to go and say hello to Sharpay anyway. She had no idea if she would be able to get in to her, but she'd just have to try – or she'd just have to wait until she had changed and was ready to go.

There were people everywhere, chatting, talking about the show and what they had liked and disliked about it. Again, Gabriella felt slightly out of place because she had no one to talk to, but she was excited to look up and see who had just stepped into the hall with one of her co-stars. She looked sweaty, exhausted, but very happy. She had her arm around the guy and they mingled through the crowd and stopped in front of a woman with a boy by her side and happily hugged them hello. The man also kissed the woman, so Gabriella suspected that it was a girlfriend or a wife.

She could feel her smile growing as she saw the way Sharpay glowed so happily as she talked to these people. There was just something about Sharpay Evans – she couldn't explain what it was, but she was special, and it made Gabriella feel really special as well.

She knew she shouldn't do it since nothing good would come out of it, but she pushed through the crowd as well, and made her way towards the blonde bombshell. As she got closer, she could hear them talking,

"...really didn't think we were that great tonight." Sharpay finished with a light chuckle.

The little boy held back a yawn, before he reached for Sharpay's hand and gave it a squeeze, "You were good today, Pay! As always!" he squeaked out.

Sharpay's face erupted into a smile and Gabriella chuckled to herself, because it was just too cute for words. She didn't want to just stand there and stare for so long though, it might seem slightly stalkerish, so she took a few steps closer and cleared her throat to announce her presence, "Yeah Sharpay, I thought you were good today, what are you talking about?" she teasingly said.

The look across Sharpay's face was priceless. The others looked confused, but that was probably because they didn't know who she was. Sharpay though, after having gotten used to her presence there, let a smile conquer her face, and she stepped closer, opening up her arms slightly, "Gabriella!?"

Gabriella stepped closer to her as well and enveloped her in a warm hug. She had completely forgotten her smell, it was kind of weird, but it felt good to fill her nostrils with the scent that was all Sharpay Evans. She smelled slightly sweaty after her work, but Gabriella didn't mind at all; it was just good to be hugged by her. The Latina wasn't sure how it was possible to have missed something without knowing it; and how it was possible to have missed something she never quite had to begin with. But she had, and she didn't want to argue with that – she'd just accept it.

They pulled away and Gabriella smiled warmly when her eyes locked with Sharpay's kind ones. It was a great feeling, and she was so happy she had decided to spend her evening like this. It was almost as if fate wanted them to meet, and therefore it had made sure that her job interview would go badly.

"What are you doing here?" Sharpay questioned; Gabriella was relieved to see that she was happy to see her, that she wasn't weird about it and that it seemed like it wouldn't be awkward at all. She didn't know if this was all it would revolve to, but she was secretly hoping that maybe they would hang out.

Gabriella moved her hands in a saying manner and gave Sharpay a cocky smile, "I'm currently in New York for a job interview." she just told the other woman. There was not more that needed to be said. When Sharpay knew this, she knew that Gabriella hadn't gone all this way just to see her, but also that it was something she really wanted to do, because she still did it, even if she was here for other matters.

Sharpay raised an eyebrow, "A job interview? Well that sounds exciting, what is it?"

"I'll let you know." Gabriella replied with a quick wink, which was cleverly planned out from her part. Since she said that she would let her know, that meant they'd have to spend more time together. And that was exactly what Gabriella hoped for.

Sharpay chuckled and turned slightly around, to place an arm around her shoulders, she then led her back to her friends and with a cheery voice and a very happy smile said, "Guys, this is my friend Gabriella, Gabriella this is my co-star Patrick and his wife and son."

Gabriella gave a funny little wave, "Hi."

Patrick shot her a charming smile, "Nice to meet you, Gabriella." he murmured with a saying look in Sharpay's direction as he reached out to shake Gabriella's hand.

Gabriella decided not to comment on it, but she was sure she saw Sharpay give a small nod.

"I better go change though, we have to get home." Patrick said and gave Sharpay a quick hug, "I'll see you tomorrow, Evans, if you're not feeling too sick."

Sharpay raised a saying eyebrow, "Well maybe I will be sick tomorrow, who knows."

And then the two of them turned around to go to their dressing rooms to change. Gabriella turned to the wife and the kid and shot the woman a questionable look.

She paused, "Don't look at me like that. I don't know what's going on with them half of the time either."

Gabriella chuckled beneath her breath before she turned towards the nearest seat and sat down, hoping that Sharpay wouldn't be too long – she could hear her stomach wail for food and she hoped that Sharpay would be cool with getting a quick bite to eat. Gabriella had no idea what they were going to do together – she just wanted to spend time with her and experience what they had at the Albuquerque mall another time; it was a memorable day in the Latina's life, and she tried to tell herself that it would not be like that everyday if she was Sharpay's girlfriend.

It was hard though because the blonde was such an incredible woman, that how could it not? Of course there would be ups and downs, but it surely felt like everyday would be like some kind of wonderful. And that was hard to admit, because Gabriella was trying to talk herself out of going for it – of kissing her, plating one upon her. After seeing her on stage tonight, that was all she really wanted to do.

Gabriella watched people leave the place as she contemplated her recent thoughts and ideas. She couldn't help herself, but at least it was the perfect way to kill time. It was just disturbing for her to think this way, she felt. That it wasn't right. She shouldn't think that way at all. She shouldn't, because Sharpay was just another friend to her, or at least... that was what she was supposed to just 'be'.

But she wasn't and Gabriella had to admit that. She wanted more. She was intrigued. She was fascinated. She was... like she was when she first met Troy.

_That _was the really sad thing about it.

"Are you ready to go?"

Gabriella looked up by the sound of Sharpay's voice and couldn't help but smile by the sight of her. She had changed into some regular clothes, probably refreshed herself up a bit with some perfume and redone her make-up. She looked very stunning, and Gabriella stood up too, just to feel like she was just about half her level. She checked her wristwatch and made a tsk-tsk sound while shaking her head, "I thought you said actors can change in a few seconds?"

Sharpay smirked, but her eyes glistened, and Gabriella knew she was happy that she had remembered something like that – something they had talked about six months ago, "I know, but you wanted me to look spectacular, did you not?"

Gabriella had to admit that she did want that, and just got a better hold of her purse, now feeling overdressed in her new bought dress, "So where do we go? I'm kinda hungry."

Sharpay placed an arm around her shoulders and turned them towards the exit, "I have a place that I haven't gone to in a while..."

Gabriella had a feeling that that wouldn't just be a regular restaurant, but that it'd be something unexpected. She chuckled as they went through the doors to the street, "And where might that just be?"

Sharpay did not reply, but the twinkle in her eye spoke enough on its own.

- -

"This is where you wanna eat?"

"Yup."

"Of aaaanywhere in New York, this is the place you choose?"

"Aha. I think it's great. Favourite place to eat."

"You serious?"

"Mhm, very."

Gabriella paused and took a look around the small place which was pretty crowded for a regular evening at 8:30 as this was. Pretty much all the round tables were filled with people and the colours of red and yellow sprung into her eyes and made Gabriella want to cover them.

"McDonald's? Really?"

Sharpay took a step forward and Gabriella thought that she was like a little kid in a candy store – she looked so cute and wonderful as she spread out her arms and spun around in a circle. "It's God's will to make me eat this." she announced when she stood still again and was staring straight at Gabriella.

"God's will?" she shortly questioned.

Sharpay put her hands in her sides and blinked a couple of times, "Yes. He made sure to make me skinny so I can eat like a pig." she replied, as a matter of fact.

Gabriella laughed and went to stand by her side, "Well, I want a chicken burger and fries and a soda. And after that I want a McFlurry." she licked her lips in thought of the delicious ice cream, and couldn't help but look forward to it in extreme joy. Sharpay stared at her with a weird look in her eyes and Gabriella continued, "You'll go order and _I'll_ find a table." she continued, as if talking to a child.

Sharpay made a face; screwed her eyes in a difficult direction, "...I knew that." she replied, before she turned around and waltzed up to the counter with bouncy steps.

Gabriella giggled lowly to herself and looked around the crowded placed to find an empty table. She saw one in the corner of the room almost immediately, she zigzagged through the other tables and sat down. She couldn't believe that she ended up having dinner with Sharpay even if it was just at McDonald's. It was sort of crazy – she just went to watch her play, to see if she was any good, and now she was here; eating with the star.

It was weird, she really couldn't explain it. She felt so different when she was with Sharpay. She knew it was cliché, but she couldn't help herself. And she was not going to lie – she could actually see herself being happy like this for the rest of her life, and that was more than what she could say when she saw herself with Troy. It just wasn't the same, she could feel that already now. If she would ever be able to explain it to anybody else, she wouldn't know. She knew that Sharpay understood though, even if they had never said it aloud, either of them. But she knew from the day they first met. She knew that Gabriella was in a serious relationship, like Gabriella herself knew that Sharpay was a lesbian. But the blonde also knew that Gabriella was intrigued and perhaps attracted to her, for Gabriella had not tried to hide that when they were in the dressing room together.

She felt her phone vibrate in her purse, so she opened it quickly to see if maybe Troy had texted her about something important. It was not Troy, however, it was Taylor, so Gabriella quickly opened the message.

_Gab! I need help, Troy's on my couch with Chad, and I don't know how to act normal around him. You screwed me up, woman!!! _

Gabriella held back a giggle even if it was a serious matter. Of course Taylor would have a problem lying to Troy, or even acting like usual around him when she knew what she knew; Gabriella felt slightly better though, after getting it out. It made her feel sad though, to think about Troy and their relationship, when all she really wanted to do was leave him back in New Mexico and go live here – live her life!

Her fingers lingered above the buttons for about ten seconds, before she breathed out slowly and decided what to write.

_I'm sorry, Tay. But I'm freaking out too! I'm having dinner... with SHARPAY EVANS! _

She hesitated for another ten seconds before she just pressed the send-button; she wasn't sure if it was very clever to tell Taylor about this dinner, but on the other hand... why not? Taylor probably didn't know about Sharpay's sexuality, and when it came to that, Gabriella believed that she would be cool with it all. Even if it would never happen between the two of them, Gabriella could still dream and imagine conflicts and wonderful moments in her over-active brain. There was no rule against that, was there?

Approximately thirty seconds later, Taylor's reply had found its way to her cell phone.

_I have Troy on my couch and you're worrying about Sharpay Evans? Oh wait a minute... Hey! Did you say Sharpay Evans? Why are you with her? Do you even know her? _

Gabriella read the text over a few times and quickly glanced up to see how far Sharpay had gotten in the line, and she seemed to be ordering their meals, and Gabriella glanced at the screen of her cell again, contemplating what to reply to her best friend. In truth she really wanted to tell Taylor about her thoughts, and about her reason for going to meet Sharpay again even if she didn't really know her, but she wasn't quite sure what to say or how to explain it – it wasn't really explainable, was it?

She bit her lip in thought and decided to just come out and say it. Just plain out tell Taylor what was on her mind; what she was thinking; why she was really there. She wouldn't explain it with long complicated sentences, she would just write it down, as simple as it was, just tell her best friend what was on her mind. It would be a risk, but when she looked up at Sharpay, she knew that she wanted to take that risk – even if it was still wasn't sure what would happen between them.

_I think that I might be in love with Sharpay. _

Hesitating, Gabriella pressed the button another time before she lost her courage. She flipped her phone shut and looked up when Sharpay placed a tray in front of her on the table and thereafter took a seat on the chair opposite her. "I got us a Happy Meal as well. I like the toys." she rambled off immediately.

Gabriella quickly opened her phone again and added

_No, I know I'm in love with Sharpay. _

and then sent that off as well. She didn't know how it was possible, but she felt like Sharpay really knew her completely. That she'd get a Happy Meal for them was just proof of that; she understood her, got what she was all about. She knew she couldn't be sure about anything that would or would not happen in the future, but she felt that if she didn't go for it... she'd just regret it.

Gabriella smiled warmly to Sharpay, "I like the toys as well." she softly said, her voice flowing across the table to Sharpay, who had already opened up her burger and eaten half of it.

The blonde placed her burger down again and swallowed slowly. "Can I ask you something?" she questioned, as Gabriella softly sipped her soda, before picking up a fry or two. She locked her eyes with Sharpay's chocolate brown ones, which were watching her in wonderment.

The Latina shrugged slightly, not quite sure what the subject of this conversation was about, but it was alright, because the unpredictable was what she really wanted and needed, "Sure."

There was a beat.

"Why are you here?"

Gabriella sat up straight and felt her phone vibrate next to her again. She said, "I'm in town for a job interview. I don't think it went too well though. Could've gone better."

Sharpay laughed for a few seconds, before she reached both hands behind her head and pulled her long blonde hair into a ponytail, "Well, that's interesting, but that's not what I meant..." she let her hands drop to the table again, and drummed her nails against the table, "I was talking about _here_. With me." she sighed and suddenly the air around them tensed and it was very serious, "What are you doing here with me? Why did you come to see me?"

Gabriella took in a deep breath; she wasn't quite sure what to reply to that. She knew she should tell her what it was, just let her know, but... It was hard, too. It was hard to just say something like that. She wasn't sure how Sharpay would react. The only thing she was certain of was that Sharpay was attracted to her, she had said so already the first time they met. But she wasn't quite sure where to go with it, "Eh..." she breathed out and just stared the other woman right in the eye.

Then there was a loud vibrate from her phone another time, and Sharpay glanced at it, "You wanna get that?" she just said, and dug into her food again, to give Gabriella space to check her message.

No surprise that both texts were from Taylor and Gabriella opened the first one, the oldest one, and quickly scrolled through it.

_WHAT!?!? Gabriella, are you serious? Is that what brought this entire thing with Troy on? Is that why you're in New York? _

She flipped back and opened the other text from Taylor, the most recent one.

_Gab? Something wrong? Why don't you answer me? Are you with her? Gab? _

She honestly didn't know what to type back to her, so she just flipped her phone shut and turned it off. She couldn't deal with this right now. She had enough in one crazy woman at a time, and right now it was Sharpay she had to deal with.

"Everything okay?" Sharpay questioned when Gabriella looked up again and had placed her turned-off phone on the table next to her soda.

Gabriella took in a deep breath and tried to form the sentence inside her head before saying it aloud. She wasn't quite sure what to say yet, but she was just going to try. "You know how you told me you're a lesbian?" she begun and Sharpay stared blankly at her and gave a slight nod, "Yes? I'm intrigued by that."

Sharpay kept reaching for fries; she chewed them slowly, swallowed and then ate some more, before she sipped her soda. Gabriella just watched her with huge eyes, studying her movements closely, wanted to see more of her, all of her with each move the blonde made. Sharpay blinked again and said, "Intrigued? What exactly do you mean by intrigued?"

Gabriella raised an eyebrow and shot Sharpay a cocky smile, "By you I'm intrigued. I wanna get to know you, I wanna... kiss you." she let her eyes wander across Sharpay's face and down her neck to the swell of her breasts. She had never thought she would ever find breasts attractive, but it was different with Sharpay – she really wanted to touch every part of her skin, and kiss every inch of her body. It didn't matter that it was a woman. She was _intrigued_.

Sharpay stared right back at her with a perfectly plucked eyebrow raised as well, "But you have a boyfriend." she stated; it was a matter of fact. It was the way it was.

"A fiancé actually." Gabriella told her, didn't want to lie to her, she was too important, "He proposed to me and I said yes. But I don't think I wanna marry him, Sharpay..." she closed her mouth tightly and thought about it, thought everything through that she had with Troy, thought about the wonderful things she had experienced with Sharpay – but those weren't enough to risk it all; they weren't important enough, there hadn't been enough good moments to overshadow everything with Troy, "I'm not sure he's gonna make me happy. I wanna... right now, all I can think about is being with you, but I can't do that."

She was quiet for a few seconds, Sharpay, letting the information sink in. She then glanced at Gabriella's food and smiled, "You're not eating anything." there was a pause and she continued, "I really wanna be with you too, Gabriella. I'm not sure if it'd work out or if you're even gay. I'm not sure if I wanna be your gay experience or not, but I'm fucking attracted to you, and I can't deny that. I'm just not sure if I wanna ruin everything for you. You've gotta make that decision for yourself."

Gabriella knew that from the beginning, before she even came here. And at one point she loved Sharpay for letting her decide everything herself, because that proved that their relationship could be wonderful if they ever got one, but at the other point, she hated Sharpay for being so nice, telling her to make a decision, because if the blonde had been selfish and just kissed her again, she wouldn't be having this problem.

The Latina poked to her burger with a finger, deep in thought. This was so confusing. All she really wanted to do was try to see if things would work with Sharpay; she wanted to give them a shot, but she couldn't bear to leave Troy. She loved him, and he was her safety net. If things didn't work with Sharpay, she wanted to be able to go back to him like nothing had happened. She knew that that sounded stupid and selfish, but she couldn't help it. It was the way she wanted it to be, and in the ideal world, the world where God did everything Gabriella Montez wanted, that was the way it would be.

"Gabriella?"

Gabriella looked up again and stared at Sharpay with a sad look across her face. It was too hard to figure this out, it made her too depressed to have to choose between her long-time boyfriend and this woman she was so intrigued and amazed by. "I'm not sure about what to do." she whispered, and couldn't help but feel moved when Sharpay offered her a supporting smile, "I mean... I really wanna try what it's like to be with you, but Troy he's..." she stopped, couldn't get herself to finish the sentence, because it pained her too much to think about Troy when she was doing this to him.

Sharpay nodded, finishing the sentence off for her, "...a great guy." she said, "He's a great guy. I know, I dated him in high school."

Gabriella hadn't know this information, but it didn't even surprise her that much. Of course Troy and Sharpay would have dated; as far as she could tell, they would have made a wonderful couple, both sweet and funny, and both great people. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and shot Sharpay the best smile she could muster, "Of course you did." she softly said, breathed out heavily and continued, "And now I really can't figure out what to do, and if I end up hurting Troy he'll hate me, and now I'm bummed out and I've ruined your evening. I'm sorry."

Sharpay looked a bit taken aback by the sudden rant, but she reached a hand across the table in stead and locked her fingers with Gabriella's, "You haven't ruined my evening, sweetie." she softly said, and their eyes locked, and Gabriella could see that she was contemplating what to do; thinking things over as well, because her eyes seemed glazed and her thumb kept stroking the back of her hand, "I don't wanna hurt Troy either, but no matter what happens, he's probably gonna get the short end of the stick, I just... cheer up, Gabriella."

Gabriella calmed down more as Sharpay's finger stroked her hand, but she was still so upset about Troy and this dilemma – she had never pictured herself in a situation like this, and it truly sucked to be in it.

"I'll tell you what;" Sharpay suddenly said, now seeming much cheerier as she stared Gabriella deeply in the eye, "I'll suggest something and if you laugh of my suggestion, you have to say yes."

Gabriella couldn't really see what the point of this was, and she wasn't really in the mood to laugh right now, so she wasn't concerned about the suggestion, and what Sharpay would have her do at all. It wouldn't be a problem if she didn't laugh.

She sniffed and said, "Yeah okay, I doubt you'll make me laugh, though."

"That's okay?" Sharpay replied with a sneaky smile.

"That's okay." Gabriella confirmed.

The smile on Sharpay's face could not have been bigger, "Fine, listen up!" she said, and her voice got happier with each syllable she pronounced, "You and I – we're gonna finish our dinner, go get you a few drinks to ease your worries, and then we're gonna go back to my apartment and accidentally have sex because we're so 'drunk'."

Gabriella laughed. The scene, the suggestion and the air quotes at the end were just too damn precious and funny for her to resist. She then paused when realisation hit her, "Oh my God, I just said yes, didn't I?" she squeaked, her brown eyes going huge. She had laughed, and the deal was that if she laughed, she'd have to do it.

Sharpay nodded her head up and down across from her, her blonde fringe bouncing slightly as she moved. "Oh yes Gabriella, you did just say yes."

Gabriella cocked her eyebrows together, still not sure about what was really happening, but knowing that it was crazy, "How's that gonna help me in any way? - and how's that not hurting Troy!?" she exclaimed, probably a little louder than intended. She glanced around the room and bent her head to talk in private. "What are you thinking?"

Sharpay scrunched up her nose a few times before she replied, "Well, you wanna know whether or not this is something you can do. You won't know unless you try." she paused for a few seconds and stared Gabriella in the eye again, very seriously, "The drinks are to make it a bit easier for you – and so you can blame the alcohol if something goes wrong, and the sex is just really good."

"But you said you didn't want to be my gay experience?" Gabriella questioned in confusion.

Sharpay shrugged and leaned back into her chair, "Normally I don't, 'cuz I end up getting hurt, but... with you, truth is, I don't really care."

Gabriella leaned back into her chair as well with a low sigh. As she watched Sharpay take a sip of her soda, covering the straw with her mouth, she couldn't help but want to try this. Even if it was so, so wrong.

She was too intrigued to resist.

* * *

_Thank you so much for the reviews for the last chapter, I'm so happy you enjoyed that. And thank you for the patience with this chapter, I had a lot of problems with this chapter, but I finally got time to write it. I hope you enjoyed this as well, and please drop me off a comment with your thoughts. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own High School Musical – or McDonald's for that matter. _


	4. Part Two: Two

**THE WINDOW**

**Part Two **

**_Two_ and Two Make Four **

"Do you think she's still asleep?"

"Of course she's still asleep, otherwise she would have tried to stab us with her kitchen knife and or blind us with her pepper spray by now."

There was a giggle.

"We should just go in and see if she's dead or something."

"Oh! Maybe someone stabbed _her _with a kitchen knife!"

Sharpay smiled into her pillow and tried to hold back her laugh. She was slightly cold beneath her sheets and her body tingled all over – a nice feeling. Which was probably why she did not stomp out of bed to kill her the two woman who had entered her apartment with the spare key she, without a doubt, had given them doing a momentary brain lapse. She did not get why they had to be so loud when they visited her in the mornings, which they usually did. They knew she could be out really late because of her job, and what time was it now?

Sharpay lifted her head slightly and glanced at the clock on her bedside table. Fuck it, it was 8:30am and her so-called best friends were all there, ready to wake her out of her peaceful slumber.

"Shut up, Valerie, don't even kid with that."

"Buha Denise, just go to Momma Sharpay and cry your eyes out."

"You know what? Maybe I will."

Their footsteps came closer, and Sharpay turned onto her other side, to look away from the entrance to her bedroom. She didn't want them to be able to see her smile when they entered. She screwed her face up in discomfort when she turned, all the contents of her stomach slopped around inside of her, and for a second she felt like throwing up.

Had there been.... drinking last night?

Oh yeah. She'd had a few or five with... GABRIELLA?!

_Gabriella? _

Sharpay sat up in her bed quickly, while the two fools still chatted, taking their time to find out if she was really dead or not. The blonde looked around her bedroom, quickly scanning every inch of it, not finding Gabriella anywhere in sight. But her clothes were still on the floor.

"So she did _not_ make a run for it." Sharpay told herself, nodding her head slightly, while she contemplated whether or not that was a good thing or not. Well, it was probably good, but it was going to be awkward to talk to her again. Last night had been really amazing in her opinion. Of course it was not the best sex Sharpay had ever had (hello, it was Gabriella's first gay experience – that was to be expected!), but it had been really special. And Sharpay was not afraid to admit that she wanted more of that. She could actually imagine herself with Gabriella. The question was just if the other woman felt the same way?

Sharpay suddenly heard the water start in her bathroom again and fell back into the pillows in relief. Gabriella was just taking a shower – they'd talk after, she just needed to shower. It was nice to know that she was still in the apartment, and that she wasn't close to leaving because her clothes were still scattered around Sharpay's fluffy carpet.

"Oh look, she's already awake."

Sharpay turned her head to the side to find Valerie standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a foot tripping. Her faint red hair rested on her shoulders beneath her pink cap while her green eyes shot Sharpay a suspicious look. She was wearing the usual – lose sweatpants, a tight work-out top and sneakers. She was a dancer, and that was actually how she and Sharpay had met in the first place.

"So, she's not dead, damn!?"

Sharpay made a face in Denise's direction as the other woman entered her bedroom too. She had a mischievous look written across her boyish face; her short, black hair was spiced up today and she was also wearing her every-day clothes – jeans and a dress shirt. She worked at a newspaper and was a fairly good fiction writer as well.

Valerie took a seat by the foot of Sharpay's bed, "Why are you still snoozing?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, "We brought breakfast before work."

Sharpay begged that they would not hear the water running in the bathroom if she kept the conversation flowing nicely, "Well, I-" she paused as she thought of what Patrick had said last night about being 'sick', "I don't feel too well today. You might as well go on to rehearsals without me, Val."

Denise sniggered and took a look around the room, "Do I look stupid to you, Evans?" she questioned, and Sharpay had to watch in horror as she bent down and removed Gabriella's red bra from the floor with a finger, as if she didn't want to touch it completely.

Valerie's eyes went wider, and she reached for the piece of lingerie without caring that it was someone else's – she grabbed it with both hands to study it closer. She looked up at Sharpay and made a kissy sound.

Denise looked at the bra again and Sharpay wondered, for what seemed like the thousandth time, how the two of them could really make a relationship work; they were both insane! Denise cringed and continued her accusations, "The last time I checked, this was not your cup size, Ms. Superstar."

Sharpay made sure to cover herself completely before she reached forward and grabbed Gabriella's bra, feeling like she had to do something with this; she didn't want to fuck anything up with Gabriella, and she had a feeling that the other woman wouldn't like it, if she came into the room again and found some stranger with her bra in their hands, "And you know what you're talking about, don't you?" she just fired back; it was the best thing she could muster at this time of the morning.

Denise smirked and Valerie rolled her eyes, "Please, I do not want to be reminded of the fact that you two used to go out."

There was a beat.

"Nah, me neither." - Denise.

"No, could we please not?" - Sharpay.

And then the three of them looked at each other and broke into a full-blown belly laugh. Valerie's laugh had always been really loud and annoying, but both Sharpay and Denise had learned to live with that, and sometimes it just made them laugh even more than they were to begin with.

When Sharpay was done laughing she let Gabriella's bra fall to the mattress beside her and she poked a foot through the sheet on her bed and pointed at the tee on the floor, "Could you get me that?" she asked Valerie with a sweet smile.

The redhead reached for the tee and Sharpay quickly shot her another smile.

"You seriously don't want me to give you your underwear too, do you?" she just stated in a I-will-_not_-do-this voice.

Sharpay shrieked, "You can take a clean pair in the drawer!"

Denise sighed wildly and quickly pulled out a pair of black boys underwear from the top drawer, where she knew Sharpay kept her lingerie. "Here you go." she said, and pulled the rubber band out tightly before she let go, which caused it to fly across the room and hit Sharpay in the face.

Valerie laughed again and Sharpay shot Denise daggers while she struggled to put on her clothes while still covered, and Denise threw herself onto the bed on her stomach, lying where Gabriella must have slept peacefully only an hour ago.

"So, who's the chick you scored with?" Denise loudly asked.

"Yes! We wanna get the dirty details!" Valerie added.

Sharpay hit them both with a pillow, "Shut up, bitches!" she said, before she let the pillow drop to the floor next to her bed and continued, "She's in the bathroom, alright? And it's Gabriella."

Valerie's jaw practically hit the floor, "The straight girl from back home?" she questioned, "That's crazy! How did that happen!?"

Sharpay shrugged, actually couldn't believe it herself when she really thought about it. She had convinced herself that she'd never see Gabriella again, and had also come to the conclusion that that was probably for that best. But now, when she thought about last night, she did not want to change a thing. She could see herself really loving Gabriella. She was sure that she was already on the way.

"She seemed so straight." Valerie added with a shake of her head.

Denise fiddled the sheet on Sharpay's bed, running a finger across it, "Well," she said, as she looked up at the two of them with a sideways smile, "everyone's straight until they're not. I was even straight once."

Looking at her now, that was very hard to believe, but Sharpay knew that she had actually had a boyfriend back in eight grade or something. Even the gayest girls had once tried a boy. Sharpay herself had been with Troy, and she liked to describe herself as _so_ gay.

"Or maybe she's just a spaghetti girl..." Sharpay said and tried to hold back her smile; she simply couldn't help herself – she was too happy about last night, it was impossible for her not to smile, "Y'know? Straight until wet."

The three of them laughed again, but Sharpay stopped abruptly when the door to her bathroom opened and Gabriella stepped out, wearing only a towel. For a second Sharpay was very worried about what her reaction would be, but when the Latina cracked a smile, Sharpay felt better.

"You know that's not a bad theory." she simply said, and Sharpay laughed lowly, because both Valerie and Denise turned around quickly, both looking very embarrassed. "Hi, I'm Gabriella." she continued.

Denise nodded shortly, "Denise."

"And Valerie, hi." the other woman said and gave a funny little wave, "I did not mean to steal your bra, it was just a very big cup size."

Sharpay felt like that was probably not the best explanation or the best way to be introduced to one another, but Gabriella didn't seem to mind, she just smiled at them, "Good morning." she said to Sharpay, as their eyes locked. Sharpay felt her entire body tingle just by the look and she wanted nothing more than to stand up and kiss Gabriella, but she wasn't quite sure if they were at a place where that was acceptable for her to do.

She pushed a runaway hair out of her eyes, "'Morning." she lowly whispered.

Denise and Valerie must have somehow felt their their presences were definitely not needed and appreciated, because the two of them turned to look at each other, and stood up at the exact same time.

Valerie reached the door first, "We're just gonna-" she pointed through the doorway and was out of there before she had time to finish her sentence.

Denise followed right after, "-set the breakfast table? For four, yes? Alright, see you." and she smacked the door close behind her.

Sharpay turned to look at Gabriella again after the little scene her best friends had made, and Gabriella stiffly sat down about where Valerie had formerly been seated. Her hair was still very wet and droplets of water rolled down her skin, and Sharpay found her very much appealing.

The blonde pushed her sheets aside and moved over to sit next to the Latina. She nervously placed a hand on her thigh, and was relieved when it was not pushed away, "Are- are you alright?" she softly asked.

Gabriella turned her head and stared at her completely. Their noses were inches apart, their eyes locked, brown and brown, "I'm wonderful, actually, I've never..." she stopped, and Sharpay could feel anticipation prickling in every fibre of her body, she could feel emotions rushing through her veins, and it was amazing, and she never wanted it to stop, "I never felt better." she firmly finished.

Sharpay felt like her smile went all the way to her ears, but for once she did not care if she looked like a lovesick fool, "Really? So this was more than just for trying it?"

Gabriella reached out, firmly grabbed her hand and locked it in her own. It felt nice to be this close to her; it was different from last night at McDonald's because now they had shared something sacred, something so wonderful and secret and Sharpay loved every second of it, "I'd be stupid if this was a one time thing." Gabriella said, her voice so full of love and anticipation, "If I didn't give it a try."

"So you wanna give it a try?"

Gabriella nodded, "I've only felt this way once before, and that was with Troy." she revealed. She stared briefly into the floor and Sharpay let her have her space, let her think through it, "And it was a wonderful feeling, but it didn't last." she looked up at Sharpay again with a specific sparkle in her eye, "Now I've got it with you and..." she trailed off, and Sharpay waited for her to say more, but it didn't happen.

The blonde squeezed her hand tightly, urged her to continue, "And?"

"And the sex is so much better."

Sharpay couldn't help but laugh aloud at that one, so she giggled madly for a second or two, and Gabriella chuckled along with her, and it was different, but it felt so nice.

"What are we gonna do about Troy?" was the first thing Sharpay asked when their laughter had calmed down and they were once again sitting in silence.

Gabriella shrugged, and Sharpay knew that this was hard for her. It was a guy she really cared about, a guy she had shared a bed with for so many years and what they had was special as well. But she could see that Gabriella really wanted to try this out too; she wanted to see what it was like. It was a risk to take for a straight girl. She could lose all her friends if she was unlucky and they didn't understand. Plus, the two of them lived so far apart, there was no saying if anything would work out. It was risky, but Sharpay could tell that she really wanted to take that risk.

The Latina sighed and said, "I guess I'm gonna have to talk to him when I get home, don't I?"

Sharpay nodded, "I think you do." she said. It sucked, but that was reality. If they wanted to try out what it would be like to be together, then Gabriella would have to break it off with Troy – and that was that. It wasn't up for discussion.

"But let's not talk about that!" Gabriella quickly said, bringing the happy mood back to the room and to the day – they shouldn't be sulking, they should be happy!, "Were those two your friends?" she asked in stead, referring to Denise and Valerie of course, whom, Sharpay was sure, were both standing on the other side of the smacked-close door to try to listen to what they were talking about in here.

She stood up from her seat on the bed to find something to wear in her dresser while they talked, "Yeah, they are..." she trailed off as she opened the first drawer to find a clean bra, "I used to date Denise, and that wasn't pretty." she explained, "Then I met Valerie at rehearsals for Chicago. She's a dancer. I set them up, thought their craziness fitted perfectly."

Gabriella giggled lowly as she stood up to find her clothes as well; that was only the ones she wore last night because her suitcase was back at her hotel, "Well, they seem like very nice people."

Sharpay looked up after stuffing both her sweatpants into her socks, "You'll have to get used to them." she just said.

"I guess that could really be okay." Gabriella replied back and stopped up, only inches from Sharpay, "Can I kiss you again?" she then added.

Sharpay nodded, couldn't keep the smile off her face as she leaned in, anticipating the moment where their lips would touch again. She still had Gabriella's taste in her mouth from last night, and as she felt right now, she never wanted to lose that taste ever again. It was weird to be thinking stuff like that, but it made the butterflies in her stomach go crazy with their wings.

Their lips touched, and even if it was meant for only a second, Sharpay couldn't control herself; she let her feelings run, stroked Gabriella's bare arms and ran her fingers through her hair. Then they pulled apart, both with bigger smiles across their faces.

"Sorry," the blonde whispered, so crazily in love, "my lips really like your kiss."

Gabriella licked her lips shortly, stared her deeply in the eyes, rested her forehead against hers, "That's quite alright." she said, "We're gonna have to talk about what to do next, we're gonna have to do that before I leave."

"Of course."

"But what do you say? Should we go have breakfast with your wacky friends before anything?"

Sharpay giggled again and gave the Latina another peck on the lips, "I say that that's a very good idea."

–

"So what did you think of our show last night? I'm a dancer, you know."

Sharpay smiled at Gabriella and urged her to answer Valerie, who valued the opinion of about anyone she could ask for it, and the redhead was quite the talker, so that was a lot of people in the end.

Gabriella reached for a croissant from the bag on the table (for once she wanted to eat breakfast – the workout last night had gotten her quite hungry), as she nodded to Valerie, "It was good. I liked it a lot, but it's Broadway, nothing on Broadway is not worthy of Broadway, am I right?"

"I like you." Valerie said, and for a second Sharpay thought that it was the compliments that did the trick, but then the other woman continued, "That is one of the weirdest sentences I've heard, and that's something, I'm tellin' ya'!"

Denise laughed briefly and stuffed her face with the last bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, "True, true Gabriella, Valerie has heard some pretty screwed up things."

Valerie screwed her face up in a weird direction, "What do you know about that!?" she questioned her girlfriend with huge eyes.

Denise argued back and Gabriella turned her head to the other side, which made Sharpay very happy because then she'd be able to see her beautiful face, "Did you really mean it when you told me that I'd have to get used to that? Do they always bicker?" the Latina asked.

Sharpay nodded her head. It was true. They did always bicker, they did always argue, but when it came to it, they were the happiest people together. Sharpay had never seen either of them as happy as they were once they had started dating. They brought the best (and sometimes worst) out in each other. "Yeah, but... you learn to tune it out."

Before Gabriella managed to reply to that statement, Valerie had something to say yet again, "Hey Shar? We have to be at rehearsals in thirty minutes, maybe it's time to leave, considering it takes at least forty to get there."

Sharpay rolled her eyes, and Denise reached a hand out and placed it on her forehead, "She feels kinda warm though, Val, I think it's better if she rests until tonight so she'll be able to giver herself 150 percent."

Valerie sighed heavily and pushed her chair back, "Sure, she's _very_ sick!" she mocked as she turned to gather up all her belongings which she had managed to scatter around the flat during her, so far, thirty minutes visit, "So? What do I tell them all? That you'll definitely make it tonight?"

Sharpay snickered, "I do have obligations, so I'll definitely be there." she replied. Gabriella would already be gone then anyway, and she felt weird about being 'sick' because she loved her job and they had hired her because of her commitment. But she needed to spend some time with Gabriella – there was nothing to discuss about that, they'd just have to be able to rehearse without her.

Valerie just shook her head at her friend as she picked up her purse from the floor and Denise stood up too, "Well, goodbye ladies, I do have to work too." she said and then poked her hand into Gabriella's, "It was nice to meet you, I can't wait to spend more time with you."

Sharpay watched happily as Gabriella shook her hand and replied with a smile. It was good to know that so far they clicked. Because Denise and Valerie were her two best friends in the city – and her two gay friends. There was Patrick too, of course, but he had his family to spend time with. It was easier with those two because they were at the same place in their lives and they could always hang out. Gabriella would be a part of that – when she came to visit, or if she, perhaps, ever decided to live here?

The two fools left her apartment and Sharpay turned to Gabriella again, happy to finally be alone with her. They were so many things they needed to discuss – it was important that some of it were settled before Gabriella left for Albuquerque.

Gabriella shot her the cutest smile too and reached for her hand, so their fingers were linked, "When I've broken up with Troy... do you think I could come here every other weekend to spend time with you?" she lowly asked. Her pointer finger kept moving in Sharpay's hand and it tickled wonderfully.

The blonde smirked at her; wondered how she could even ask if she could, she had to! It was an order, she must, "You better." she just replied, feeling the warmth of her body release through her smile and her eyes in the happiest expression she had had in a very long time.

"Good." Gabriella smiled.

There was a silence between the two of them, but it was not awkward like it could sometimes be when one didn't know what to say to someone else; it was nice and comfortable, and it felt like they had been sitting at a breakfast table together a gazillion times before because it was so familiar, and Sharpay hoped to be doing this again in a year – or ten.

Gabriella then looked around the tiny kitchen with a curious look across her face, "Where did I drop my purse last night?" she asked and Sharpay shot her a questionable look to get her to elaborate, which she quickly did, "I turned off my cell last night, I'm sure Taylor must have tried to call me all night."

Sharpay raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. Why would Taylor try to reach Gabriella so frantically? She was a grown-up woman, she should just leave her alone for a couple of days!, "Why'd she do that?" she quickly questioned.

Gabriella got a small smile on her face and Sharpay really wanted to know what had gone on with them. She didn't have to beg though, because as Gabriella stood up to find her purse and with that her cell phone, she also started to tell her, "I sorta turned it off in the middle of a very important conversation." she explained as she walked out of sight.

Sharpay turned her head to follow her to the doorway, "What kind of conversation?" she teased her in a giggly voice, even if she was serious about wanting to know, too.

Gabriella appeared in the kitchen again with an even bigger smile across her face, "We were talking about you." she revealed as she sat down on her seat and dug into her purse for the small device.

The was certainly even more interesting than Sharpay had thought it would be, "Me?" she couldn't help but ask, a finger pointed to herself.

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh as she finally looked up at Sharpay with the cell in her hands, "I just told her that I knew I was into you." she cringed, "I think she might be fretting to know what that's all about."

Sharpay couldn't help but laugh, "Knowing Taylor, she's without a doubt doing that!" she giggled as she watched Gabriella turn on her cell. She couldn't really believe that Gabriella had told Taylor that, though, it was kind of weird to think about. She was flattered that Gabriella had already felt like that before she suggested her brilliant 'schedule' for the evening last night, but it worried her slightly what Taylor might be thinking now – and what she would think of her in the future.

As soon as she had turned on the phone it kept vibrating, loading up message after message; probably all from Taylor. If it continued much more, the phone would move off of the table, where Gabriella had placed it before. The Latina watched it in horror and then she raised her head and stared at Sharpay with wide eyes too. The blonde placed a hand in front of her mouth to keep herself from giggling.

"She must really be fretting." Gabriella simply said, staring back down at the phone in astonishment.

Before Sharpay managed to shoot back a witty comeback to that, the phone started buzzing like crazy and soon it started ringing and the two woman locked eyes in surprise. Sharpay reached a hand out and pushed it closer to Gabriella, "Pick it up!" she shrieked, afraid because Taylor's picture was flashing madly across the screen.

Gabriella shook her head, "No!" she shot back and pushed the phone closer to Sharpay, "You pick it up for me! I can't deal with her right now!"

"It's your phone, I won't pick it up!"

"Pick it up!"

"No!"

"Do it!"

"_No_!"

"Please Sharpay, just do it, won't you!?"

And so then Sharpay reached for the phone and held it to her ear, "Hello?" she questioned, very much afraid of what would happen next. She did not want to do this, but right now she just wanted to please Gabriella, because that was what would make or break her future. She was afraid to hear how Taylor would handle this – it was important that she liked her, after all – she was Gabriella's best friend, wasn't she?

She could hear the other woman hesitate on the other line, "Gab – Gabriella?"

Yeah, it was definitely Taylor, Sharpay was sure of that, but she could hear clearly that Taylor was not sure if it was Gabriella she was talking with or not. Of course she would be uncertain, because their voices reminded nothing of each other, but still she was doubting, because this was Gabriella's phone, so who else would be answering?

Sharpay stared at Gabriella, who was listening closely, as if trying to hear what was going on, "No." Sharpay firmly said, replying to Taylor's questioning statement, not sure about what else to say.

Again there was a brief pause, but then Taylor seemed to catch on, and Sharpay would have expected that, she graduated best of their class, "Sharpay?" she asked, and suddenly her voice had turned much harder and she sounded pretty accusative.

Sharpay let her eyes focus out the window, tried to take this in the best way possible, "Yeah, this is she." she replied.

"What the crap are you doing?" was Taylor's first reaction. Her voice was snappy and rude, and Sharpay knew that she was about to get some sort or lecture from her – Taylor did not like this, that was very clear to the blonde actress, but what could she really do about it? She liked Gabriella a lot, and Gabriella liked her too. Taylor should be happy for them.

She sighed heavily, "Talking to you?" she dared to question back at the fiery woman, who was very opinionated.

Taylor did not appreciate that response, "Don't start with me, Sharpay!" she said, quickly moving on to the next thing, "What the fuck is going on? Gabriella text me something huge last night and then I can't get a hold of her, and I've been trying practically all night, I did not get an hour's sleep, and now I'm talking to you instead of her, and I just want to know what's up!" she paused and breathed heavily at the other end, "And I'm rambling, am I not?"

It wasn't as bad as Sharpay had feared it would be, so she dared to sneak a smile and turn to look at Gabriella again, who was drumming her right hand's fingers against the table, "Yeah you are, Taylor, you're rambling." she softly replied.

"I know." was the only thing she got back.

There was a pause where Sharpay didn't know if Taylor was going to speak again or if she should say something. But when nothing came from the other end, Sharpay decided to try her way with talking, "I don't know what to say to you, Taylor... I'm sorry if this upsets you, but since I first laid eyes upon Gabriella," she locked eyes with the Latina again, as she had raised her head with the biggest smile this morning, "I've liked her. And I can't describe it, but Gabriella knew my feelings from the very start, and yet she still came to see me again."

That was all she could explain. She didn't know what went on inside Gabriella's head, so she could only speak for herself, but she felt like it was a good thing that Taylor knew that she really cared about Gabriella and that she hadn't lured her in or anything.

Taylor breathed softly in and out, probably contemplating what to answer to that, "...can I speak to my best friend now, please?" she then lowly tried.

Sharpay let the phone fall from her ear and covered it with one hand, "She wants to talk to you." she said as she held it out for Gabriella to take.

The Latina looked slightly nauseas, but Sharpay offered her an encouraging smile until she took the phone and raised it to her ear, "Tay?" she nervously begun.

Sharpay felt like this wasn't really her business, so she pushed her chair back and decided to go fix herself completely. If she knew herself, which she really did, her hair was one big mess about now.

–

There was a bit of an awkward tension between them because Gabriella's conversation with Taylor had not been as calm as Sharpay's had been, and right after they had hung up, before Gabriella even had had time to gather herself together, Troy had called her up to tell her 'good morning' and hear how it went yesterday.

During that conversation, Sharpay could tell that Gabriella felt really uncomfortable, and once it was over, the good mood had sort of faded and there was just tension between them.

Sharpay felt like it was her fault that Gabriella felt like this now, because hadn't it been for her, she wouldn't be having problems in her relationship with Taylor, and she wouldn't feel so uncomfortable talking to Troy. She opened her mouth to speak, only said, "Do you-" before she cut herself off, not really sure about what to say, how to really phrase herself without sounding completely stupid.

Gabriella looked at her from the seat on Sharpay's bed where she had thrown herself in frustration after the phone call had ended; Sharpay was sitting on the floor, back against a wall, with her leg pulled up to her chest, "No." Gabriella firmly said, trying to give her a small smile, but it didn't go down so well, "It's not your fault Sharpay. I _want_ this."

Sharpay didn't say this aloud, but she was happy to know so. And it also pleased her that Gabriella knew exactly what her concern was, even if she didn't tell her so. She knew her so well already, and it was scary how quickly it all seemed to happen. Before she could count to ten, Gabriella would have told Troy and they'd officially be girlfriends.

There was a silence between them again and Sharpay hugged her legs closer to her body, rested her chin in the nook between her knees, watching Gabriella intensely. The other woman sat up straighter and glanced quickly at the clock next to her. "I should probably get to my hotel and pack my stuff." she softly said.

Sharpay lifted her head from the nook and said, "Oh... okay." she nodded and got off of the floor, to give Gabriella a proper goodbye. She also had stuff she needed to do, and it was probably about time. She stuck her hands into her pockets and shrugged, "I better get to work as well."

Gabriella giggled lowly and it eased the tension a little bit, but it was still to be cut delicately with a very formal knife, "I'll call you tomorrow." she said, as they left the bedroom to walk through the flat and to the hallway, looking for any remains of Gabriella' s stuff on the way.

Sharpay paused briefly as she walked past her stereo, wondering what to do. She made a quick decision though and grabbed the burned CD from on top of the stack on the floor. She caught up with Gabriella in the hallway, who were leaning against the wall, slipping into her footwear.

"Here." Sharpay firmly said and handed her the CD with a shy smile, "I want you to listen to this on the plane. And I want your honest opinion."

She was worried what Gabriella might think, but it was always better to hear the truth than some lie some people tell just because they're afraid of what will happen if they do speak their minds. She valued what Gabriella had to say – she wanted to know, otherwise she simply wouldn't ask.

Gabriella smiled back, her eyes were sparkling with love and adoration, and Sharpay felt really loved, "Is this you singing?" Gabriella questioned, glancing firmly at the blank CD that had nothing written on it.

Sharpay nodded her head, "I made that demo a few months ago. It's one of my own songs." she said, remembering how nervous she had been when she had to record it. It was one thing to stand on a stage and sing her heart out every night, and it was alright to record the songs from various plays because they had to release a soundtrack – it was a whole other thing to record one of her own songs, with very personal lyrics. But it was nice, because she felt like the record would come right from her heart and it was a dream come true.

Gabriella nodded almost unnoticed and safely placed the CD in her purse, "I'll definitely listen to it." she replied, and the two of them looked each other in the eye again. There was a pause, and she said, "I'll see you soon." and then she leaned forward and placed a quick peck on Sharpay's lips.

"Bye." Sharpay whispered as she pulled back, the feeling of Gabriella lingering everywhere on and in her body.

Gabriella did not say another word. She turned and left the apartment, and Sharpay sighed heavily when the door smacked close. She was _so_ happy. But she was also _so_ nervous – how on Earth wouldn't this end?

–

Sharpay entered the dressing room after a brilliant show that evening. She was exhausted, but very happy. She felt as if her happiness had been shown through the entire show and it felt nice to affect people and bring them joy in that certain way.

Falling into her couch, she pushed her hair back, happy to be alone now. She just wanted to go home and sleep and have wonderful dreams about Gabriella all night.

Her phone started ringing from where it was lying on the table, and she could barely reach it from where she had thrown herself, but she managed to snatch it with two fingers and couldn't keep herself from smiling even bigger when it was Gabriella's name on that display. She quickly flipped her phone open, "Hi." she softly said, not believing that she actually missed the Latina so much already. She barely knew her, and she had barely been away from her.

"I – I listened to you song." Gabriella whispered at the other end of the line.

Sharpay didn't bother asking if she had talked to Troy or not, because it was clear that she was making this call in secret while he was either sleeping or watching TV, and it was okay, because Gabriella had lots of time to talk to him; she could do it when she felt like it was a good time.

She bit her lip instead, anticipating the response, "Yes?"

"It's really beautiful."

Sharpay didn't know what to answer to that. She felt her heart swell just a bit, but she didn't want to thank Gabriella aloud; the Latina knew what it meant to her. Instead, she said, "I miss you already."

There was a beat.

"I miss you too."

Sharpay bit her lip and ran a finger across a broken hem on her costume, while she tried not to act like a complete fool, "I can't wait to see you again."

Gabriella sighed at the other end of the line; it was hard on her too, Sharpay could tell, "No, I can't wait to see you either." she softly replied.

Sharpay nodded to herself, "Well... see you."

"You too."

Sharpay closed her phone with a click and dropped it carelessly to the floor. Falling to the couch, to lie down completely and rest, she couldn't help but ask herself, _What the fuck have I gotten myself into?

* * *

__Thank you so much for all the kind reviews. I can't believe so many of you seem to enjoy this story, but it makes me very happy! (; I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, and please drop me off your thoughts. It'll be a while before the next part is up, because I have a small project I'd like to work on first (it's a one-shot), but I don't know if I'll finish it completely before I write the next chapter of this, because it needs a lot of work, since my idea is still not completely thought through yet. _

_Anyway, thank you all so much! _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own High School Musical or anything related to that. _


	5. Part Three: One

**THE WINDOW **

**Part Three**

_**One**_** Week Left – Then There's Forever**

Gabriella Montez could not believe how nervous she was.

Her entire body tingled with anticipating, but she also felt like going to the bathroom all the time, to either puke or pee, and it was simply because she was so nervous. She really didn't understand why she was so nervous – there was nothing to be nervous about, really. See, she had been dating Sharpay for approximately six months now and therefore they had been together a lot of times – she always flew to New York because Sharpay couldn't get off of work, but tonight Sharpay would be arriving at the Albuquerque airport, and Gabriella couldn't wait to see her again.

This long-distance relationship-thing was killing her. She wanted to go home every night and find Sharpay already there, or she wanted to be the one that came home first and therefore cooked dinner for the other woman. It was what she wanted and she knew that Sharpay did as well. Plus, it was expensive to fly back and forth. But they hadn't been ready to move in with each other yet, so this was how it had to be. However though, Gabriella was much more ready now, and she wanted to discuss this with Sharpay when she got there.

There were three reasons that it was now her turn to fly back home.

1 – It was precisely a year since they bumped into each other on that bus; therefore, naturally, it had to be in Albuquerque.

2 – Gabriella really wanted Sharpay to meet her mother before she told her that she was ready to move to New York.

3 – Sharpay's birthday was two weeks ago and her parents had invited her down to celebrate her.

Gabriella hadn't even told her mother that she was dating a girl yet, she had explained all those flights to New York with a boyfriend and she had no idea how she was going to fix that now. Sharpay would probably be a bit disappointed in her for not telling, and her mother would be disappointed and sad that she had turned gay – she had always wanted grandchildren.

But now was the time; if Gabriella really wanted to move in with Sharpay and create a life together, then she had to tell her mother. And she was going to do it now when Sharpay was in town. Sharpay had already told her parents that she was dating Gabriella, because it was no problem – they already knew she was a lesbian. And Gabriella had even met them at Kelsi and Ryan's for many birthdays and gatherings, so she was naturally invited by a phone call from Darby Evans herself to Sharpay's birthday dinner. But it was a totally different matter with Consuela, because Gabriella was not sure it was acceptable in her family to be gay. She was just going to have to cross her fingers.

But she was pretty nervous because of everything and that was why she had troubles holding down the black coffee she had for breakfast. Luckily enough she soon had to go pick up Sharpay in the airport. She couldn't wait to see her again. They wouldn't have any alone time together right now though, because they had to go straight to the Evans mansion. Tonight they would though, and tomorrow they were having dinner here (she had been living with her mother since she split with Troy; he got the apartment and... pretty much everything) with her mother – she had said that she would bring a 'friend'.

Gabriella grabbed her purse from the kitchen table where it had been sitting since she got out of bed this morning. Her mother had left early for work, she hadn't even said goodbye to her. Sharpay was going to stay at Ryan's tonight and she would go with her there after the dinner – she couldn't get home really late because then her mother would ask her what she had been doing.

Gabriella locked the small house behind her and went down the small path. Her mother had taken her bicycle to work which worked out very well for Gabriella because then she could drive to the airport. It was much easier. As she unlocked the car door, her phone started ringing and she reached into her purse to answer it.

"Hey Tay, it's me." she said and opened the door to sit behind the wheel. She knew she wasn't supposed to drive and talk on her cell at the same time, and normally she would never do so, but she had to get to the airport and who knew how long Taylor would keep her on the phone? They could talk for hours when they really wanted to. Plus, she didn't really mind because it would occupy her mind.

"Hi Gab!" Taylor cheered on the other end of the line, and Gabriella could tell that she was in a good mood today which was always nice, "What are you up to?"

Gabriella chuckled inwardly to herself as she placed the cell between her shoulder and ear and turned on the engine, "You seriously called me up to ask me that?"

"Yeah."

"Nothing more. Simply just that?" she continued to tease her best friend, because she knew why Taylor had called her up, and it was only because the other woman wanted to talk to her about Sharpay arriving. At first when Gabriella came home from New York after first being with Sharpay, she had had to have a long talk with Taylor about this; she was confused and didn't know what to think, but eventually, when Gabriella had been travelling back and forth a few times, Taylor had realized that Gabriella was serious about this, and they'd had another talk where they had really talked it out.

And now Taylor was really interested in their relationship; she was curious to know how Gabriella and Sharpay interacted with each other, she had told Gabriella so a bunch of times. Therefore the other woman probably hoped they'd spend some time together this weekend, but Gabriella wasn't sure if she'd be able to fit it in after she had told her mother. So even if Gabriella didn't tell her that many things, because she felt like it was private, Taylor was still the best friend she possibly could be.

It seemed like Taylor didn't want to banter with her, she just said, "Are you going to the airport soon?"

Gabriella focused her attention at backing out of the driveway before answering, "I'm actually driving there right now." she replied with a strained voice. She felt horrible about driving when she was not supposed to, but there was really nothing she could do right now.

Taylor hummed, "While talking on the phone? Gabriella Montez, I'm appalled by you." she teased her with a guffaw.

Gabriella rolled her eyes even if Taylor couldn't see her, before she said, "Stop teasing me, alright? Why did you call me, surely not to just make fun of me!" she whined.

"Excited to pick up your lady?" Taylor then asked her, changing the subject of talk completely, which was very nice because if she hadn't, Gabriella might have purposely crashed her car to avoid the former subject.

She smiled into the phone now though, because the thought of Sharpay made her fussy, "Yes!" she chipped and felt the need to dance around in joy, though that wouldn't be good because she was behind a wheel in her mother's car, "I can't wait to see her again. I'm wearing the new outfit I bought, I hope she notices, and... urgh, I just can't wait to see her again."

"That's because you're in _loooove_." Taylor chanted.

"I'm nervous though." Gabriella quickly chipped in, remembered how she felt about this entire thing she wanted to talk to Sharpay about; it was huge, wanting to move in together, but she couldn't help but wish it. It was the next thing for them to do in their relationship and she wanted to spend her life with Sharpay – they wouldn't get any closer if they kept living so far apart and saw each other only on weekends. They didn't know if they would be able to make a usual day work, just... getting up, cleaning, working, sharing the same bed, being together 24/7.

There was a brief silence on the other end, before Taylor said, "Nervous? Why are you nervous? It's just your girlfriend."

"I'm gonna ask her if I can move into her flat." Gabriella promptly told her best friend as she turned a corner on the road and hit the speeder. "I'm just... not sure about it," she continued to reveal, happy that Taylor was listening now, and not saying anything, "because – because it's so far away, I'd have to quit my job, y'know? And it's such a huge thing to do. I'm just not sure if it's the right thing for us, Tay, but... I just really miss her when she's all away in the big city. I don't see her so often, and I really want to get serious, y'know?"

It took a while before Taylor answered, it seemed like she was thinking about what Gabriella had just told her, but she finally said, "It is a big step, Gabs, I'm not gonna lie to you..." she softly begun and Gabriella felt her heart sink, because it didn't sound good in her ears, "But, I've gotta ask you a thing, since, y'know, you don't tell me too much about your relationship – I don't know why, maybe you think I don't wanna hear it – but, anyway, as I was saying, I've gotta ask you; do you... really love her, Gab?"

It didn't take Gabriella one second to answer that truthfully, "Yes."

Taylor continued then, with her questions, "Can you see yourself spending the rest of your life with her?" she wanted to know next, and Gabriella smiled because this was what a real friend would do; this was real friendship in her eyes.

"I can, Taylor..." she whispered, truthfully again, and she didn't have to think about it this time either. She could see herself spending her life with Sharpay. She didn't know how it would end up, but the past six months when she had been with Sharpay during weekends, they had had fun, they had spent time with Denise and Valerie, they had been to plenty of Broadway shows and often to McDonald's. It was a life Gabriella could see herself living, it was just a shame that it was so far away from her mother and her friends, "I can. I'm not sure where it would go, but.. I know I'll be happy with her."

There was another pause and Gabriella could tell that Taylor was contemplating, trying to think of another question. Eventually, she did say, "...and you don't mind, you don't mind what other people will think? The things they'll say to you, especially if you get married and get kids, and-"

Gabriella cut her off, "It wouldn't be with her now if I cared." she whispered.

There was a beat, and then Taylor concluded, "Then I don't see why not, Gabs." she said, and Gabriella smiled in relief, because support was exactly what she needed at this moment, "I mean, if this is really what you want, then I say go for it! Do it, this is your moment, your window, this is... your chance. Ask her."

Gabriella felt her body tense down because she was so relieved, and she smiled like a goof as she turned the car and drove into the parking lot at the airport. Turning off the engine, she said, "You're right Tay, you're absolutely right." she paused, "Thank you. I love you so much."

"You too." Taylor replied, and Gabriella could hear her smile into the phone, "Anyway, talk to you later, bye."

"Bye." Gabriella softly said as she clapped her phone shut and leaned back in her seat.

She felt so much better now. Taylor had really managed to make her feel much surer about this entire thing. It was still a huge step for them to take, but she was certain now that it was the right thing to do next for them. She loved Sharpay and she could see herself being with her all the time. It would make her happy, even if she had to be away from her family and friends. She would be happy, and she wanted to make Sharpay happy as well.

So she was going to do it. She was going to ask her. And she was going to do it right in front of Sharpay's family.

_This is it, _Gabriella whispered to herself as she got out of the car and locked it behind her, _this is my window, I've – I've gotta do this. _

The Latina crossed the parking lot and entered the huge airport that was filled with luggage and people and even a few run-away luggage carts. She checked her wristwatch and was happy to see that if Sharpay's flight was on time it would already have landed. She turned in search for the big screen and read through the lines to find the one from New York. She smiled hugely to herself when it said that it had just landed. That meant that she'd just have time to meet Sharpay at the gate like a real girlfriend should. She knew that Sharpay wouldn't have to go to baggage claim because it was only a three-day visit – she had everything in her carry-on, it was much faster when it was only for weekend-stays, Gabriella had learned that after three flights and told Sharpay about her wise 'revelation'.

There weren't too many people waiting at the gate because it was only a flight from New York and people flew back and forth like she walked to work, so it wasn't even a big deal. But she wanted to be the perfect girlfriend and _not_ make her loved one take a cab home from the airport.

She only had to wait around five minutes (but those five minutes were some horrible, heart-beating, foot-tripping five minutes) until Sharpay's blonde hair was spotted between lots of other people. Gabriella felt her face light up and when Sharpay came all the way into sight, she squealed loudly and met the actress in a deep hug.

"I've missed you so much!" she whispered into her ear, and even if she wanted to kiss her, she didn't, because flaunting their gayness probably wasn't the best idea in an airport; people could still be so close minded.

Sharpay kissed her cheek briefly though as they moved off to the side to let other people pass, "I've really missed you too." she said and gave her a once-over, to get a better look at her. That was something she always did. At first Gabriella used to question it every time, but since then she had learned that Sharpay liked to make sure that everything was as it was used to, and after about a week, the blonde woman said, the image in her head had faded slightly and she'd like to update it to a newer version. "You got a new outfit!" she smiled when she was done.

Gabriella couldn't help but chuckle loudly – she knew Sharpay would notice something like that. She was so attentive and just plain amazing, "I did!" she said and hugged her once more.

"What do you say?" Sharpay questioned when they pulled away from each other, "Wanna go have dinner with my wacky family?"

Gabriella nodded happily at her and they locked their hands as they went for the revolving doors in the other end of the airport, "You sure do associate with a lot of wacky people." she mumbled, thinking with happy thoughts of Valerie and Denise back in New York.

Sharpay gave her a smirk as she rolled her pink suitcase around a group of French-talking people, "Yeah, I do – you included!" she teased her, and Gabriella couldn't help but laugh as they finally came into the fresh air outside. When she was with Sharpay like this, she was sure that moving to New York was the right decision.

How could anyone else, _ever_, make her this happy?

–

Gabriella was so glad that she had Sharpay on one side, squeezing her her reassuringly, and Kelsi on the other side, whispering words of support into her ear.

She had never felt more out of place in her entire life. Sure, she had known that the Evans family was a rich, fancy family, but she had never really felt so when being around either Ryan or Sharpay, but sitting in their huge dining room with a waitress bringing them food, she could suddenly see that this family was important, and that she was nothing compared to Vance and Darby Evans who sat across from her.

Kelsi leaned in closer, lowly whispering, "Don't worry. I felt weird the first time I was here too... They're just checking you. After dinner they'll loosen up slightly." she leaned away again, but two seconds after she was back, "Why am I whispering this to you? You know that, you've met them before."

And then she leaned away again and turned to her other side to tend to Matthew. Ryan had Denise by his side, so he was making sure that she sat nicely while eating.

Gabriella turned her head slightly to the other side and offered Sharpay a big smile. It didn't matter that they were not alone, it was just so nice to see her again. She always knew she missed her when they weren't together, but once she was finally with her, she knew she had missed her much more than she thought.

"They're good people, Bri," Sharpay mumbled in her direction while she reached for her glass of wine, "you know that. Mother called you herself, didn't she?"

And it was true. Darby Evans had asked her to come herself over the phone and maybe Gabriella was making this worse because she was so nervous. She should just loosen up and be herself. It was much more fun, and it would make a much better impression on them, than if she sat there like a statue.

Vance then perked his head up in Gabriella's direction after having focused on talking to Denise for a few minutes, "So Gabriella? Sharpay tells me you work at a law firm?"

Gabriella gave a short nod and took in a deep breath, _Make a good impression, make a good impression, make a good impression, _she chanted to herself, before saying, "Yeah I do. Right here in Albuquerque actually." she replied, and applauded herself for giving an actually okay answer.

Vance shot her a stern look, "Michael Woods or Porter & Humphrey?"

"Porter & Humphrey, of course." Gabriella quickly said back, knowing that that was the answer he wanted to hear. Her firm had had a case with him, done by Patrick Humphrey himself, and they had won and therefore he naturally appreciated that law firm more than the other, because they had represented his opponent.

Vance then turned to his daughter and shot her a huge smile, "She's a keeper, this one." he said to her, and Gabriella felt happiness burst through every fibre of her body – it was something to be called a keeper by Vance Evans.

Sharpay placed a chaste kiss on Gabriella's cheek and told her father, "I know Daddy, I wouldn't be kissing on her if she wasn't. I know how to pick 'em."

Gabriella turned her head to the side and gave Sharpay a huge smile – she simply couldn't help herself.

"But it must be hard then," Darby Evans chipped in, deciding to participate in this conversation – so far she hadn't said a word, "with you two living so far apart? How often do you see each other?"

"Gabriella flies in all the weekends she can." Sharpay replied in a flat voice. She probably hated discussing this with her parents, because Gabriella also knew that she felt bad about not being able to fly back at least half the times. She helped pay for the tickets though, which was nice because Gabriella didn't make as much money as she did, "I can't really get off of work, so Gabriella is the one who has to do it."

Darby gave her daughter a stern look, "Well, that's not very nice of you, Sharpay." she told her in a light voice, as if that was something that had to be changed immediately, "And what? Does she stay at a hotel too?"

Sharpay squeezed Gabriella's hand tight, and Gabriella had to bite her lip from saying anything, "No Mother, she stays at my apartment. What do you think I am?"

"Well Sharpay darling, if you make your girlfriend fly back and forth all the time, then I'm not really sure what to think of you." Darby replied.

Sharpay was about to open her mouth to say something back, but Vance did it before she could, "Calm down Darby, I'm sure Sharpay feels really bad about it, but she's a big star on Broadway, she has obligations." he told her and placed a hand on top of hers, and Gabriella didn't know why, but she got a feeling that this was something that happened often – perhaps Sharpay and her mother didn't really get along, while Sharpay also was a Daddy's girl?

Sharpay shot her father a smile and loosened her angry grip on Gabriella's hand, "Yes. Thank you, Daddy."

Vance didn't seem to be finished though, he merely continued, while the rest of the table was watching, holding their breaths. The kids weren't even talking, Kelsi kept feeding Matthew small bites of food which seemed to effectively shut him up, and Denise seemed rather off in her own world, doing her princess things, "And Darling, I'm sure Gabriella wouldn't be flying back and forth unless she really wanted to."

Suddenly all attention was on Gabriella and she felt like a deer caught in the headlights, "No, I..." and now she felt the need to squeeze Sharpay's hand with as much strength as she could muster, "I really want to. I don't mind. I like going to New York. I watch Sharpay perform and then we just... spend time together."

Darby didn't seem happy with that explanation, for she continued, "But wouldn't it be much nicer if you lived in the same city, Gabriella darling?"

Gabriella felt like this was a bit too close to what she actually had in mind to ask Sharpay, and if she didn't come out and say it right now, it was going to seem weird once she did. So she took in a deep breath and kept in mind what Taylor had told her, "It would, it would..." she said and then turned to face Sharpay, "And that's actually why I planned to ask you this tonight, sweetie, I – I was gonna ask you if I can move into your flat?"

For a second there Gabriella couldn't tell what Sharpay was thinking. She didn't move at first, she just stared at Gabriella as if she didn't really know what to say, but then she cracked a huge smile and squealed loudly, "Get the fuck outta town!" she said and pulled Gabriella in for a hug, "You mean that?" she continued when she pulled back and stared Gabriella deeply in the eye.

The Latina couldn't help but smile because the blonde's happiness was exactly what she had wished for, "Yeah, yeah, I do," she said and nodded her head frantically, "I'll try to find a job once I get there, I just... I just wanna be with you and see where it goes."

Sharpay smiled warmly back at her and kissed her several times on the lips, "Me too!" she said and grabbed both Gabriella's hands tightly, "I was beginning to wonder if I should ask you myself, but I didn't know and I ..." she paused and kissed Gabriella again, this time a bit longer, "I can't wait to have you come live with me, Bri."

"So we're gonna move in together?" Gabriella questioned. She almost couldn't contain her happiness. This had gone better than she had thought it would – Taylor had been right, it was her chance and she was so glad she took it.

"Yeah, I guess." Sharpay replied, and the two of them leaned closer and kissed each other yet again.

After a few seconds, Darby interrupted them, "So, no more kissing at the table, Sharpay."

The two girls pulled apart and Sharpay turned to Darby, "Sorry Mother." she replied.

There was a brief silence but luckily enough Ryan decided to break it, "So I believe a congratulation is in order." he stated, with a huge smile on his face; it reached all the way into his eyes.

"We're gonna miss you around here." Kelsi smiled and reached an arm around Gabriella to give her a sideways hug, "But I guess we have an even better reason to fly out to New York now."

Sharpay faked a gasp, "_I'm_ not a good enough reason?" she teased them. And for a second Kelsi seemed to think that she was serious, but when the blonde cracked a smile, so did the pianist, and the entire table started laughing. Gabriella let her hand wander to the side and gently placed it at Sharpay's thigh, before she leaned in closer and whispered in her ear,

"I love you, you know that right?"

A hand was placed on top of hers, and then the other woman said, "I do. I hope you know I love you too." she whispered lowly, her breath tickling Gabriella's skin slightly. "Because... I've never been better."

"Me neither." Gabriella replied, as she glanced around the table again. She saw that this was pretty good. She could be a part of this family, couldn't she? She could be exactly wacky like that, yes?

-

"Gabriella honey?"

Gabriella poked her head into the kitchen. She was still in her nightgown and it wasn't all good, because it was a few minutes to ten and Sharpay would be there for brunch very soon. "Yes Ma?" she questioned, and felt her stomach grumble slightly by the smell of all the well-cooked food. She normally didn't have breakfast, and now she knew why – it was so she would appreciate moments like these so much more when they occurred.

Consuela Montez gave her daughter a huge smile, "Are you almost ready? I can't wait to meet your amiga. She'll be here at ten, right?"

Gabriella gave her a short nod, "Yes Mamá, she will be." she replied, before she turned and went down the hall to get into a skirt and a top – just to look somewhat alright, even if it really didn't matter much. Sharpay wouldn't care how she looked; she'd just be happy to see her.

Gabriella was really nervous though. She had no idea how she was going to tell her mother about this. And how was she going to explain to Sharpay that she had to stay away from her until they had broken it gently to her mother? Sharpay was going to hate her for not telling her mother, especially because Gabriella had told Sharpay that she had already done so.

Gabriella quickly pulled on a plain jeans skirt and a white top. She pulled her hair into a buckle and looked out the window, when she heard a car stop. And there was Sharpay, getting out of a taxi. Gabriella's eyes widened slightly and she hurried out of the room and down the hallway. She ignored her mother and rushed out the front door to greet Sharpay in a deep hug.

"Don't kiss me." she whispered into her ear, and when they pulled back, Sharpay shot her a very questionable look. Gabriella quickly elaborated, "I know I said I told her, but I really didn't, and don't hate me, please don't hate me, but I just couldn't." she rambled off as they went up the small path to the front door, which was still open all the way.

Sharpay hissed at her, "You didn't tell her? Why? _Why not_!?"

Gabriella could see that she was angry and very disappointed and she understood why, but there wasn't anything they could do about it now – they'd just have to swing this brunch and somehow tell her mother what she had planned to do with her life.

Gabriella didn't answer as they were entering the house, in stead she called for her mother, "Ma! We have company." she poked her head into the kitchen and smiled at her mother, who was already on her way into the hallway. Sharpay was leaning against the wall, slipping out of her high heels. Gabriella closed the front door behind her and smiled at the tow of them, "Ma, this is Sharpay. Sharpay, this is my mother." she introduced them with a huge smile.

Sharpay scolded at her, but offered Consuela a huge smile, "Hi, it's so nice to meet you." she said and Gabriella watched her with happy eyes, because this was why she loved her – she would do anything to be friends with her mother, because she knew it was so important to Gabriella that Consuela was okay with this. Sharpay was always so kind and _she_ would have never lied about being gay. Realizing this made Gabriella feel like such an inconsiderate jerk.

Consuela smiled at Sharpay as well and let her into the kitchen, letting Gabriella follow as the third wheel, "It's nice to meet you as well, Sharpay. Gabby has told me so much about you – you're an actress right?"

Gabriella felt the need to make nice now because she needed Sharpay to know that she wasn't an entirely awful person, so she said, "She's not just an actress, Mamá, she's on Broadway – she's America's Royalty like that."

It seemed to work slightly, even if Sharpay wasn't easily bought with flattery, because she offered Gabriella a small smile, "Thank you, Bri, but not quite, Ms. Montez, I always wanted to do theatre. If it wasn't that, it was no acting for me. But I'm actually releasing my first record soon."

The two of them sat down next to each other by the table that was nicely done and had all Consuela's specialities on it. Gabriella felt her stomach grumble yet again as she reached forward and poured coffee for all three of them, "I heard some of the songs, Ma, and they're good. Sharpay has an amazing singing voice."

Consuela smiled warmly at Sharpay and there was genuine interest in her brown eyes, "Really? I'd like to hear them someday as well."

"You should fly with Gabriella to New York sometime and come visit me." Sharpay immediately offered, and now Gabriella, if it was possible, felt even worse about not telling her mother that Sharpay was, in fact, her girlfriend. Why hadn't she done that, again? Why had she made up a lie about some boyfriend that would never even measure up to Sharpay anyway? It was stupid, it was wrong, and she was... weak. If she loved Sharpay as much as she had told Taylor this morning, then it shouldn't be a problem, should it? She'd just have to do it.

How about... now?

_Now's good, Montez, now is unbelievably perfect, _she pep-talked herself and reached for a piece of bread and an egg. There were pancakes as well, so she shouldn't eat too much bread. It was a shame to waste all those lovely pancakes.

Consuela sipped her coffee slightly before she answered Sharpay, "Well, if I did fly out, maybe I could meet that boyfriend of hers too. She never tells me anything about him, I don't even know what he works with."

Sharpay flinched and Gabriella knew that she had to do something with this. It was too painful for her to see Sharpay react like this. And this brunch was even supposed to get her and her mom to connect and get to know each other – under true circumstances. Gabriella knew for a fact that her mother wouldn't be talking like this to Sharpay if she knew that she was the one doing her daughter.

"Mom actually!" she exclaimed and Sharpay raised her one eyebrow and had questions floating deep within her brown pools; Gabriella returned those questions with a slight nod – this was now, this was _it_. Consuela looked at Gabriella as well, but she was slightly startled by the sudden outburst from her daughter, "Actually..." Gabriella continued, this time much softer, "There's something very important I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Consuela asked her as she reached for a pancake and some jam.

Gabriella took in a deep breath before she pulled herself together and got it done, "There is no boyfriend." she said and watched as her mother's eyes turned very confused. She felt so stupid, like such an idiot. She could have avoided this entire mess if she had never lied in the first place. She'd never lie again, she secretly vowed to herself – even if it would be impossible not to do so.

"There's not?"

"There's not." Gabriella confirmed and shook her head, "I've – I've been flying off to New York to see Sharpay every time. She's... my girlfriend."

It felt so nice to finally get it said, it really did. Sharpay's face erupted into a smile and suddenly it felt as if something heavy was lifted off of Gabriella's own shoulders. Consuela though, she didn't look happy. She seemed confused, but when the words really dawned on her, she pulled her chair slightly away from Sharpay and turned to Gabriella, "What? Eh, what, Gabby?"

Gabriella took in a deep breath and looked her mother deeply in the eye; it was time to get serious, "You heard me, Ma. It's what I said." she paused slightly and watched as her mother glanced softly to the side to look at Sharpay, who nodded shortly, letting Consuela know that this was not a lie – or a really off-season April's Fool, "I broke up with Troy because I fell in love with Sharpay." the Latina finished with a huge swallow.

Consuela had thinking-lines across her old face, but she wasn't freaking out the way Gabriella had feared she would be, she seemed genuinely interested in hearing what it was the two women had decided to share with her, "But... I don't understand, Gabby, did you... Did you just meet her and decided that you like – women?"

Gabriella shrugged lamely but reached a hand across the table and grabbed her mother's to reassure. It was so weird to see her mother like this; she seemed all fragile – almost like a five-year-old child. And Gabriella wanted to take care of her, explain it to her and make sure that everything was good between them. She glanced briefly and Sharpay who offered her a supportive smile, "I don't know, Mom..." she honestly said, "I just – I just like Sharpay, and I really wanna give us a try. It doesn't matter if she's a man or a woman, does it? What matters is that I _love_ her – and she loves me. And that we're very happy together."

"I suppose so..." Consuela whispered, but she still didn't seem entirely sure about this situation she had somehow ended up in.

Sharpay then took over, trying to help Gabriella to the best of her abilities, "Like me, Ms. Montez, I've known I was gay for a very long time. Gabriella didn't know so." the blonde woman explained in the sweetest way possible, "But sometimes.. it just happens. We see that a lot in the gay community, and I just hope that-" she paused in search for the right way to phrase herself, and continued when she seemed to have found it, "I just hope that you'll approve of Gabriella becoming a part of that."

Gabriella felt the need to add a whole bunch of things, but she just said, "If you don't approve, it doesn't mean I won't do it Mom –" it was hard to say so, but Gabriella believed that was how she would react. It would be horrible if she had to lose her mother because of this, but she couldn't lie to herself when she knew that this was who she was, "I wanna do this for _me_. I wanna do this because it makes me happy. I just hope you won't shut me out." she finished.

Now Consuela finally had peace to open her mouth and say something. She had a nervous look in her eyes, but Gabriella felt alright, because there was also a smile on that face, "I'd never shut you out, Gabby, you're my baby." she quickly explained, and turned Gabriella's hand over, so she was stroking it with her thumb, "However, I am very shocked by all this, and I will need time..." she swallowed loudly, but then her smile got bigger, "But eventually I will come to visit in New York – assuming I'm invited, of course!"

Gabriella had never been more relieved in her entire life. She squeezed her mother's hand tight, "Thank you, Ma." she whispered, felling that nothing would make her unhappy now. She liked to think of Sharpay as someone who would never hurt her, and the two of them could create something really special together – they'd be able to create an entire life with all its ups and downs and the imperfections. It would be hard at times, but it would be so worth it, she knew that.

Sharpay gave Consuela a huge smile too; Gabriella could see how relieved she was as well, and the quarrel from earlier was completely gone and forgotten, "Ms. Montez, you'll always be welcome, you don't have to worry!"

"Thank you Sharpay dear," Consuela said and pulled the blonde woman in for a sideways hug, "and no more Ms. Montez then - you're my daughter-in-law, I'll expect you to call me Consuela."

Sharpay's smile just got even bigger, "Consuela, of course." she said with a nod of her head.

"Now," Consuela continued as she pushed her chair back and stood up. She went to her shelf and picked up the brand-new digital camera Gabriella had given her for her last birthday, and turned back to them, "I'm gonna need a picture of you two to show off to my friends."

Sharpay looked quite shocked, but Gabriella immediately went around the table and sat down on Sharpay's lap. She placed a kiss on her girlfriend's cheek and turned to her mother with a huge smile, "Ma, you shouldn't brag about us like that."

"There's no bragging." Consuela said, and Gabriella could tell that she was doing this because she needed proof; she needed this to remind herself that her daughter was now a lesbian, and if Gabriella ever wanted her to be okay with it, she knew she'd have to let her have her time, even if she acted like she was just fine – but that would only be in front of Sharpay, "You two look good together." the oldest Latina finished in a low voice as she snapped a picture for her laptop – forever remembering this moment.

-

"So you're seriously moving away?" Taylor asked her as she reached for the pitcher to pour herself another cup of coffee. "It's gonna be so lonely without you."

"It so is." Kelsi added with a shake of her head, all her curls bounced and she looked incredibly cute – Gabriella just had to hug her.

Sharpay bit her chocolate chip cookie and didn't mind talking with her mouth full, "I'm sorry for stealing her away guys." she mumbled, and then she stuffed the rest of her cookie into her mouth.

Gabriella gave her an awkward look but decided not to comment on it, "There's no stealing." she told her friends, but felt happy that they were going to miss her so much; she'd miss them too, no doubt about it, "I'm moving because I want to."

"No kidnapping!" Sharpay chipped in, before she reached for her cup of cacao with whipped cream in it. That was supposed to be for Denise and Matthew while the grown-ups had coffee here at Taylor's, but Sharpay was like a child at heart and had immediately poured herself cacao.

Gabriella reached for a cookie as well and took a small nip of it, "I'll miss you guys, you'll have to come visit us often."

Sharpay gave the two of them a nod before she sunk to the floor and crawled around the coffee table to join Denise on the floor where she was playing with her dolls. Denise loved her aunt so much, and Gabriella loved to see them together – Sharpay was so good at entertaining the young girl; whatever they did, Denise just looked up to her father's sister.

Taylor raised an eyebrow in Gabriella's direction when she saw the look on her face, "You know it's gonna be tough to swing that one now that you're gay, right?" she lowly told her, just to make sure that Sharpay wouldn't hear her.

Gabriella didn't like talking about this subject that much. It was painful for her to admit that Taylor was right. It would be hard to get kids because usually one needs a man for that, and she was disappointing her mother too, who had always wanted grandchildren. It had always been a dream of Gabriella's own to have kids and be a happy family, so it was a blow to her, but she still didn't want to lose Sharpay, "Tough yes..." she whispered back to Taylor with a small smile, "but not completely out of the question."

Kelsi smiled warmly from her seat in the couch – she seemed to agree with Gabriella on this one, "Sharpay's good with kids." she simply said.

Taylor held her cup to her lip and seemed to get a whiff of her coffee, before she said, "Sure... But it's just a lot more trouble with all that adoption stuff or insemination, or whatever it is that it's called these days."

Gabriella decided not to answer that as she gazed down at Sharpay whose Barbie was having a wild conversation with Denise's Barbie. It would be nice to have kids with her... They would be great parents, Gabriella could just feel that. In stead of answering Taylor, she decided to change the subject, "But just so you know," she said, "I'll be moving already next weekend."

This, Sharpay seemed to hear. Her head popped up from what she was doing, and she looked at Gabriella with wide eyes, "What? Next weekend?"

Gabriella adored the way she seemed so happy and so surprised at the very same time, so she lovingly answered her with a giggle, "Yes, I'm sending the movers off next week with the things I've got stored in Mom's garage. I'll be there to greet them with you."

"Really?" Sharpay questioned in an aw-tone, "I can't wait to live with you, Bri."

Gabriella was about to answer, but a loud outburst coming from the hallway got the entire room's attention and everyone went quiet. It was Chad talking, that was clear, but what he was saying was not so certain. Taylor was about to get up and go take a look at whatever Chad had screwed up now, but she paused half up, when someone else's voice was in the mess, too.

_Troy_.

All of them knew who that voice belonged to, and Sharpay got off the floor, clearly scared about what would happen if Chad didn't get him to leave. Gabriella understood what the fuss in the hallway was about now - Chad was telling Troy to leave, but apparently Troy didn't seem to want to do so, because he was objecting loudly. Sharpay almost flew across the floor and sat down next to Gabriella on the couch. She probably felt the need to hold her hand, for she immediately found Gabriella's and squeezed it tight.

"..don't have time right now, man." Chad said, as his voice came closer and they were coming down the hallway – their footsteps were getting closer and Gabriella wasn't quite sure if she was ready for this or not. But she really didn't have a choice because a few seconds later, Troy was standing in the entrance to the living room, and he looked very surprised.

Everyone seemed to hold their breaths – scared to see what would happen and how everyone would react around here. Taylor was half way out of her chair, but she moved neither up nor down, and Chad stood behind Troy with a hand on his curly head.

"What are you doing here?" Troy harshly asked, his blue eyes pointed right to the couch where Gabriella and Sharpay were sitting.

Gabriella felt bad about how they ended, she really did. She had never wished to hurt Troy, and she had told him so many times when she told him that she had met someone else. And this wasn't good, they weren't supposed to run into each other like this, especially not with Sharpay involved, "Troy, I didn't know that you were gonna be here." Gabriella truthfully said. They were just here to have an afternoon with the girls.

Troy brushed her off, clearly not interested in what Gabriella had to say, "I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to Sharpay." he firmly said, and shook his shaggy brown hair at her, "You have some nerve coming back to Albuquerque after you broke my heart in high school and now – now you've stolen my fiancée."

Sharpay took in a deep breath and Gabriella turned her head to the side to watch Sharpay as she talked to Troy, "I'm sorry about that, Troy," she said with a sigh, "_truly_... sorry about that." she let go of Gabriella's hand and stood up to be more at level with him, "Sorry about the high school thing, the Gabriella thing and... about being here?" she went around the coffee table and stopped in front of him, "I'm not gonna get into this with you because it's useless. So I'll just be – I'll just be going now, alright?"

And then she pushed pass him and they heard her heels click down the hallway until she reached the front door and they heard it smack close.

Gabriella shot Taylor a confused look, but the other woman moved her head slightly and urged her to follow. Gabriella stood up and stopped in front of Troy like Sharpay had just done, "I'm sorry too, Troy." she whispered, before she went around him too and rushed after her girlfriend.

She didn't have to rush too long because Sharpay was waiting right outside on the bench in Taylor's garden. Gabriella was glad that she had decided to follow her, because that was clearly what Sharpay had expected. "Hi." she whispered as she sat down next to her. "Are you alright?"

Sharpay glanced up at her softly, before she bent her head and placed it on her shoulder, "I'm alright. I just didn't wanna talk to him. He's a part of the past, and I just wanna look into the future with you."

Gabriella felt herself smile warmly, because she couldn't agree more. Troy was her past – Sharpay was her future. And she was going to create something so beautiful with her that everyone would look at them and go 'Wow, they're _really_ happy'. That was what she wanted and even if the way she had treated Troy made her feel slightly guilty... it didn't matter because her and Sharpay had each other and that was the most important thing.

"Ah, I love you." she said to the blonde and kissed her on the top of her head.

Sharpay looked up at her again with love shining through her brown eyes, "Me too." she lowly mumbled, "..._roomie_."

* * *

_Thank you so much for being so patient with the update for this one. It took me longer to write than reckoned. I hope you liked it anyway and that it was worth the wait. _

_Anyway... I've also been really stupid. See? The Denise, the lesbian Denise, is portrayed after a brilliant girl I know, she's a lot like the Denise in my story and that's why I decided to name her Denise, of course. But what had I done two chapters before that? I had named Ryan's daughter Denise as well and I didn't realize that before I had to write this chapter. Now, my question to you guys if is I should change the girl's name? I could name her something else, because I just think it's unbelievably stupid to have two original characters named the same in a fic? Does it bother you, or should I just let it be? _

_Anyway, please drop me off a review? _

**_Disclaimer; _**_I don't own HSM. _


	6. Part Three: Two

**THE WINDOW**

**Part Three**

**For the _Two_ of Us**

Sharpay Evans had always been one of those people who got very excited about a lot of things. She liked to share her happiness with the people around her, she was a giddy person who smiled and chuckled and laughed whenever she wanted to. And it was all the little things that cheered her up – when listening to a good song or eating a spectacularly good sandwich. It could be anything that made her want to dance around in joy, but never – _never_ – had anything in the entire world made her as happy as this day had done.

So far – well, she hadn't really accomplished much because she was too excited to be able to function properly. Gabriella was moving in with her today and she was insanely nervous, but she also couldn't wait. Denise and Valerie had brought her breakfast this morning as usual, and she had wanted to clear up some space in her bedroom for Gabriella's clothes, but had ended up throwing everything on the bed. She didn't have room to place it anywhere else, and she was too excited to figure out a solution in this entire mess. She just wanted to see Gabriella again and call her 'Roomie'.

And now she was almost there – she met with the movers outside Newark Airport and drove with them to the apartment to make sure everything got there alright. They were going to be there soon, so Sharpay, Valerie and Denise went down to the street to wait for them. Denise and Valerie took it quite alright, but were almost going crazy – Sharpay was tripping all over the place.

"Calm down Evans, would you?" Denise sneered with a chuckle and leaned against the wall with her hands in her pockets.

Sharpay turned to her with a raised eyebrow. She could tell that her friend was absolutely enjoying seeing her jump around like this. Denise had always been cool like that, and Sharpay had always loved that about her. She was glad that they were still friends after dating – she wouldn't have wanted to lose her.

Valerie took a step back and did a dancy-squirm, "Now, why do you say that, honey? You don't enjoy seeing her like this?" she fake-joked and this time Sharpay turned to her with a raised eyebrow. What was up with all the mocking Sharpay they were doing today? That wasn't fun!

Denise chuckled and shook her head which caused her fringe to fall slightly into her eyes – that gave her such a boyish charm, "She was never like this when she was dating me." she commented in a whatever voice.

"Well, that's because our relationship sucked big time." Sharpay fired back, happy to now tease her and to occupy her mind from Gabriella and the moving in. It was nice to have those two sillies to talk to whenever she needed it.

Denise made a face in her direction and sneered back at her, "_Haha_, you're so funny."

Sharpay was about to fire something back at her, but Valerie interrupted their banter like she usually did whenever it started; it was a good thing that they had her, otherwise they'd never stop bantering, "Uh! Uh!" she exclaimed and pointed down the street while she jumped up and down, "I see a van! There's _a __**van**_ – coming down the street!"

Both Sharpay and Denise turned around on the sidewallk and stared down the busy street. Sharpay could feel her heart starting to beat faster as she tried to make out if Gabriella was in the van or not. She really hoped this was the van because she was soon going to lose her mind if Gabriella wouldn't be there. She wanted to hug her and kiss her – and then she wanted to welcome her to her – their – flat.

"Uh! Uh!" Valerie said and did her thing again, "I see a curly Latina – that's her! It's Gabriella!"

Sharpay couldn't help herself; she pulled an all-Valerie move and started jumping up and down on the pavement like random and she saw out of the corner of her eyes that Denise shook her head because of her, but she didn't care. She was too excited to care about Denise, and when the van pulled up against the curb, she rushed to the side and opened the door to where Gabriella was seated before the engine was even turned off.

"Hi!" she squealed as Gabriella jumped out of the van and wrapped her arms around her in a deep hug, "I can't wait to have you live with me."

Gabriella kissed her cheek and said, "Lucky it's today then, huh?"

Sharpay chuckled lowly as Gabriella hugged both Valerie and Denise and the movers got out of the van as well. They started unloading Gabriella's things onto the sidewalk without a word, and Sharpay grabbed the nearest box. Denise snorted at her and shook her head, "What are you doing, Evans? Trying to carry boxes? Don't you think someone with actual muscles should do that?"

Gabriella looked from one of them to the other in confusion, but when nothing was said, she turned to the redhead and Valerie explained, "It's make fun of Sharpay-day today."

Gabriella then shrugged it off and that was that because she grabbed a box as well and turned to the door. "Come on honey!" she squealed and Sharpay felt the need to dance around in joy, but she followed the other girl into the building instead.

"Yes, you better get out of here!" Denise yelled after them, "And let us butches do the work."

Sharpay stopped and turned around with a huge laugh, firing right back at them, "_Val_? A butch! There's some news!"

She could hear Valerie object loudly to that statement before the door smacked close.

-

"Wow!" Gabriella exclaimed as she fell into the white couch in the living room with a content sigh, "I can't believe I live here now." she continued as she looked around the flat with big, round eyes and a huge smile.

Sharpay looked up from the drawer in the desk in the living room and shot her a huge smile, "I can't believe it either, Bri, y'know?" she said, and didn't know how to really explain herself. She had been waiting for a love like this to come along, but she had never thought that it would really happen; it wasn't many people that got something as wonderful as this – it was almost too perfect to be true. "You just... you just make me so happy."

Gabriella turned over slightly and rested her head in the hand that was help up by her elbow, "You make me so happy, too." she softly said.

Sharpay pulled up an envelope she had just picked up from the photo shop a couple of days ago and waved it to Gabriella, "Look what I've got..." she sang and almost danced across the floor.

Gabriella sat up in the couch with a sneaky smile across her face and a mysterious look in her eyes, "Is that...?" she whispered, letting her voice trail off to nothing.

Sharpay only had to nod before Gabriella had grabbed her by the arm and pulled her onto the couch too. Sharpay was just as excited to see this as she was. A few weeks ago they had done something none of them had done before, and they had only gotten the idea because Valerie and Denise told them that they had done it. Gabriella had been very shy about it, but it had turned out to be very fun – actually it had been so fun that they wanted to have it for real.

See, they had... taken naked _pictures_ of themselves with Sharpay's digital camera, and they hadn't even seen them yet, so Sharpay had gone to the photo shop to get the pictures on real photo paper in case her computer ever crashed because she – _really_ – didn't want to lose these.

"I haven't even looked at them yet." the blonde explained as she snuggled up to her girlfriend, who wrapped an arm around her, "But I think they turned out really great. Especially the ones on this couch."

Gabriella chuckled warmly, "Sure, there were the ones in the couch, the bedroom and the kitchen-" she paused briefly and cringed, "-yeah, and the one time in the chair until you fell into the stereo."

Sharpay made a face, "Yeah, let's not talk about that." she said and Gabriella nodded quickly in agreement – because that hadn't been pretty.

Sharpay opened the envelope and pulled out the load of photos, but before she turned them over, she felt the need to tell Gabriella about the little thing in the store, "Y'know? They totally laughed at me in that photo shop. They were staring like... really weird." she said in a serious voice, having a feeling why they would be laughing of her.

Gabriella arched an eyebrow; she had been to that photo shop with Sharpay before and she knew everyone who worked there, and Sharpay could tell that she was having very similar thoughts to the ones the blonde had herself, "You think they looked?" she questioned.

"...maybe."

"Wow." Gabriella said in a very monotone voice before she completely pulled out of it and laughed, "Then that college kid with the zits and the round glasses must have gotten excited!"

Sharpay laughed in agreement as she turned the pictures over. She didn't even mind if they had looked at their pictures, they were the ones with the sad lives if that was. They could just go out and meet someone and get them some sex themselves. She didn't mind, she had Gabriella, the very hot Latina next to her in this couch, and she was all she'd need for the rest of her life.

Gabriella squealed at the first picture, "Wow! Look at me, I'm totally hot in that angle – my breasts are _huge_!"

Sharpay stared briefly at the picture and then glanced to the side to give Gabriella's breast in natural a quick once-over, and she had to admit, that for some reason they seemed very huge in this picture, "Would you shut up, Bri, you're always hot." she replied instead, knowing that if she commented on the breasts, she'd get a slap on the side of her head.

Gabriella slapped her even if there was no mentioning of breasts _at all_ in her sentence, "Like you're not drooling and secretly sneaking that photo into your wallet, huh!"

Sharpay gave Gabriella an 'I can't believe you'd accuse me of that'-look and said, "Why are you saying that, Bri? Well, that's just mean!" she teased her, and enjoyed the look on Gabriella's face, because the Latina knew exactly what was going on; that Sharpay was only teasing her – she always knew everything Sharpay was doing, it was kind of scary like that.

"Boohoo," Gabriella said with a shake of her gorgeous head, "stop crying and let's see the rest of the pictures, shall we?"

Sharpay opened her mouth to object, but Gabriella only had to slightly raise her left eyebrow before she bent her head and flipped to the next picture. This one was of Sharpay herself and she was looking quite good, too.

Gabriella lightly placed a finger on it, "Now see..." she begun with a soft voice, "_that's_ wallet-worthy!"

Sharpay rolled her eyes at her and flipped to another picture before Gabriella could comment more on the picture.

"Hey!" the Latina objected in a snappy voice, "What's up now? I'd love to have it in my wallet."

Sharpay didn't know whether to laugh or act mad. She wanted to tease Gabriella the way she always did, but truth was – she really couldn't right now. This moment was just too perfect for words. They were sitting on this couch like a real couple; there was no rush, no hurry, because the 'weekend' wouldn't soon be over; there was plenty of time for them to do all the small things too. And she just wanted to snuggle up to her girlfriend and just lay with her.

Sharpay leaned slightly forward and placed the stack of photos on the coffee table, before she turned to Gabriella with questions in her eyes, "Bri?" she asked her, and the other woman stared right back at her, probably confused that she didn't fire something back at her, because that was what usually would happen, "Can we just... lie here for a while?" she patted the couch and shot Gabriella what she believed was a charming smile.

Gabriella placed a hand on top of hers and looked at her with so much love, Sharpay couldn't believe how lucky she was, "Sure..." the brunette whispered, "We can lie here as long as we want."

And Sharpay reached out for her girlfriend and pulled her closer; there was nothing in this world that could compare to the feeling of having Gabriella in her arms like this; it was snuggle-time!

-

"So I would very much like to raise my glass," Valerie begun as she lifted up her super-size cardboard cup filled to the brim with coke with a huge smile on her lips, "For Sha-"

"-it's not a glass." Denise interrupted her as she was about to toast Gabriella and Sharpay for moving in together. She nodded towards the white and red cup in Valerie's left hand and continued, as the redhead questioned the interruption with a raised eyebrow, "It's _not_!" Denise said and continued to her point, "It's a cup. It's made of cardboard. It's not a glass – that's made of... uh-uh, surprise there, _glass_!" she mocked her girlfriend.

Valerie made a face in Denise's direction and demonstratively turned her head the other way so only Gabriella and Sharpay could see her. She raised her cup again and tried one more time to toast them, "As I was saying..." she begun, but did not once turn her head, "I would like to raise my _cup!_, toasting Sharpay and Gabriella!" she carefully pushed her cup up against first Gabriella's then Sharpay's, before finishing, "...and their relationship that is, thankfully, moving forward."

Gabriella sipped her sprite and smiled at her, "Thank you Valerie."

"Yes thank you, Val," Sharpay added after placing her cup on the table again, "but now that you've toasted us, I have something I'd like to share..."

All three heads pecked in her direction and Valerie seemed to have forgotten how 'upset' she was with Denise when her interest went to Sharpay and her eyes lit up with excitement. Denise was pretty much like she always was; she took everything cool and collected, and for Gabriella … well, she looked like a big question mark and Sharpay adored having the three of them with her for a moment like this.

It was only a few days later and they had gathered at the McDonald's where Gabriella and Sharpay had their first 'date' in New York to celebrate that Gabriella was settled in the new apartment. Valerie had insisted that it was definitely something to celebrate and they were having an early dinner here before going to the movies to catch something – they didn't know what yet, they'd see what was there when they were ready.

Sharpay was thrilled that they wanted to go out together and grab a bite to eat, because she had something else that she wanted to share with them. She had had it for a while, but hadn't known when to break the news, so she decided that it would be good to do it today since they were already celebrating. She had placed it in her purse just to have something to show them.

Gabriella touched her arm lightly and said to her, with a small smile, "What is it honey?"

Sharpay reached into her purse and when her fingers touched the cool plastic surface, she couldn't help but smile; this was too good to be true, yet it still was, "I've... finally done it." she pulled her hand out of her purse and let the item drop to the table with a squeal.

Valerie was the quickest one of them to reach for it, and she squealed too when she realized what it was, "You've made a CD!?" she shrieked and turned it around so they could all see the front cover which had a picture of Sharpay on it.

Gabriella's mouth went wide open as she snatched the CD from Valerie's hands to inspect it herself. She stared at the front cover for a few seconds, still with open mouth, before she got that one closed and turned the CD over. She ran her finger down the track list and turned to Sharpay afterwards, "Fuck you!" she said and placed the CD on the table again (it was soon picked up by Denise), "I can't believe you didn't tell me about this!"

Sharpay couldn't not smile when she placed an arm around Gabriella and kissed her cheek lightly, "I wanted it to be a surprise!" she said and pulled back again, "I've been working on it for a long time, and it's getting released next Monday!"

"You serious?" Denise asked and turned the CD around in her hands again and again, "Wow, look at this," she pointed out to only Valerie because she was next to her, "it says 'Of the popular Broadway shows _Mamma Mia!_ and _Chicago'_." she looked up at Sharpay again with a huge smile and gave the CD back to her, "Congratulations man, you really deserve it."

Sharpay smiled even wider, "Thank you."

Gabriella reached for the CD again and stared at it like Denise had just done, "Sharpay Evans," she read aloud, "_The Window_." she paused and turned to look at Sharpay with questioning eyes, "It's titled _The Window_?"

Sharpay shrugged. She knew that it was sort of weird, but she had written a song about everything, and since a window was what started it all – why not write about it? Plus, the window could mean so many other things and people could interpret it the way they found the best, right ? "Sure," she said, with a slight nod, "I just... wrote about it – the window."

"Aw!" Valerie exclaimed from the other side of the table, as she placed a hand on her heart, "That's so sweet." she continued, because she knew all about the window and their first meeting, since Sharpay had told her everything.

"I can't believe my girlfriend is gonna be a famous singer now." Gabriella softly said and nudged Sharpay in the side, "Just think about it... When I get a job, you and I will be unbreakable, huh?" she wriggled her eyebrows and couldn't help but laugh.

Sharpay laughed as well – it was a lie what Gabriella had just said; they were already unbreakable, weren't they? She thought they were great, and even if they didn't have any money... they'd be great still, she was sure about that.

"So how about you guys get me a new stereo?" Denise questioned with a charming glint in her eye.

The other three laughed, but as their laughter died off into silence, they all heard something that they'd have rather lived without hearing. It was three guys sitting on a table behind them. They were about their age, pretty attractive, and normally Sharpay would have thought they were pretty cool, but it was the conversation they were having, that totally put a dimmer on their happy moods.

She had experienced gay bashing before, it was something that practically all homosexuals would have to go through at one time in their life or another, but this was just harassment in a really, really wrong way. She got that people had their opinions and sometimes they felt the need to say them aloud, even if it was wrong. But discussing this subject with such raised voices in the middle of the afternoon at McDonald's where families were having fun together and young kids played with laughter – that was just incredibly unthoughtful.

"...guys, that's bad enough, but I seriously hate it when I see two of those lesbians walking down the street with their kids. It's just wrong, it's just plain wrong." one of the guy said, and Sharpay felt her insides freeze – she couldn't stand listening to this, she really couldn't. Especially because she knew that kids was something that they all wanted; she wasn't quite sure about Gabriella because they hadn't really discussed the matter yet, but she knew that Valerie and Denise would be the best parents for either a boy or a girl in a few years time.

Another of the lads around the table answered, "I agree. What if they get a boy? How on earth are they going to give him the best childhood? And a girl too, of course, she'll never know what a man feels like, and all that other junk."

Sharpay turned around to her friends and tuned them out to the best of her ability. Valerie took everything very personal when it came to this subject and she looked just about ready to burst into tears. Gabriella just looked shocked, and Sharpay understood why – she hadn't really experienced anything like this yet, and the first episode always takes its toll. Denise looked pretty much like Sharpay felt herself; angry, and damned-ready to hit or kick something. Sharpay could never let something like this pass by, but she still didn't know how to go around the situation.

Denise placed an arm around Valerie, who mumbled, "God... why won't they just shut the fuck up?"

"Calm down, sweetie." Denise said and awkwardly tried to console her, since that really wasn't her thing, but she'd do anything for Valerie.

Sharpay reached for Gabriella's hand beneath the table and gave it a light squeeze. To reassure Gabriella, but also to give herself strength, because well – she was going in. She took in a deep breath and pushed her chair back slightly, "I'll be right back." she mumbled to her friends and stood up, feeling ready to kick some ass – those guys wouldn't know what hit them!

Gabriella was about to protest, but Sharpay gave her such a look that the Latina knew she shouldn't say anything. Sharpay took in another calming breath and marched right up to the table where the guys were sitting, placing a hand against each side of her hip.

One of them looked up with a questionable look, "Can I help you?" he said, his voice harsh and demanding.

Sharpay bent down slightly and said to him, in a low voice, "This is probably not the place to let know of your disrespecting and ignorant opinions on the gay population in this country, alright? So if you could please just be quiet, we'd rather if you _didn't_ ruin our dinner." she finished in an 'I know better'-voice, and a hateful look in her eyes.

One of the other guys, the one who hadn't spoken at all, now said to her, "Why do you care?"

She turned her head the other way and rested it in her hand, which was held up by her elbow on their table, "I'll tell you why I care, stupid." she continued in her voice, not once thinking about the fact that these guys were all at least twice her size and that they could beat her up in a second, "You see my two friends over there? The girl who has her arm around the redhead? Yeah, you do? They are couple. Les-bi-ans." she slowly pronounced for him and stood back up straight, pushing her sunglasses further on to the top of her head.

"That's a girl?" the third man let it slip, but quickly covered his mouth and looked away.

"That's a girl, yeah." Sharpay said in a-matter-of-fact-voice, taking Denise in defence like she had done so often before, "And you see the gorgeous Latina over there?" she couldn't help but brag because she knew that they'd find Gabriella attractive, most guys would; and she didn't look the 'regular' lesbian (except that there wasn't a 'look 'for lesbians, she was talking the voice of annoying stereotypes here), and well... she was just incredibly beautiful and borderline amazing.

"Yeah?" the second man asked her in a curious voice, while the other two 'mhm'ed to get her to continue.

Sharpay just snapped, "That's my girlfriend." and pushed her sunglasses onto her face, so they couldn't see her eyes. She was a where that her three friends had listened closely to everything, and Denise snorted loudly. The three guys just looked completely surprised to find out that Gabriella – and Sharpay herself for that matter – were lesbians too. She couldn't help but add as a last thought, just to annoy them a bit more, "We're just a table full of lesbians, alright? So next time... keep your nasty opinions to yourself, for believe me when I say – no one's gonna wanna hear them."

And with that she turned around and waltzed right out of there; her friends quickly scattering to follow right after. They couldn't really stay there now and risk getting beaten, plus; this was a much stronger way to end her little speech for those ignorant dudes. This was an afternoon it would take a while for them to forget.

-

Sharpay closed the bathroom door behind her and went into the bedroom feeling much more relaxed. It had been a long day and the meeting with those guys still summed within her, even if she never once took a punch – neither physically, nor verbally. But she kept thinking about what those guys had been talking about, for she couldn't help but wonder; what about babies? Did Gabriella want to have them, or did she just want it to be the two of them? Sharpay really wanted at least one kid, she had always wanted that, but... she was getting uncertain about everything now because she didn't know how Gabriella felt about this.

And now she was just thinking – should she talk to Gabriella about this or not?

She decided to ignore it for know and smiled when she saw that the Latina was beneath the covers, reading a book with her black secretary glasses on – they made her look so sexy. Gabriella looked up at her when she heard her enter, and immediately closed her book, "Wow..." she whispered, "You look kinda hot like that."

Sharpay glanced briefly down at herself; she was wearing yellow boy's underwear, a white, loose top, and her hair was all wet and clingy. She licked her lips and sat down by the side of the bed, right next to Gabriella's hip, "And you're sexy with your glasses on."

"Well, maybe I ought to wear them some more, then." Gabriella giggled and leaned forward slightly, pressing her lips against Sharpay's and giving her a long kiss. When she pulled back, she kept her forehead close to Sharpay's, "Come to bed with me." she whispered in a suggestive voice.

Sharpay really wanted to talk to her about that baby matter, even if that sounded so good. But she knew that she wouldn't be able to enjoy anything right now if she didn't get this off of her mind. She'd just have to ask her. They could talk about everything, it wasn't such a big deal. "Actually..." she whispered, and she could tell that Gabriella's face fell greatly, "That sounds _really good,_" she added then, just to make the sad-face go away, "there's something I want to talk to you about."

Gabriella leaned back again and shot her a questionable look, "What is it, Sharpay?"

Sharpay crawled over Gabriella's legs and onto her side of the bed. She sat there Indian style and contemplated about how to phrase herself for a second, but when she felt Gabriella's fingers reach for hers, she knew that she could just say it without troubles, "About those guys at McDonald's today..." she begun, and Gabriella immediately opened her mouth to say something, but Sharpay quieted her with a wave of her hand, "No, let me say this, sweetie..." she said, and Gabriella shut her mouth, "I've always wanted kids," it came quickly and that was the best way, "and I don't think it's wrong, and I don't think we'd be any less a family than some other family. I also think that the child would have all opportunities even if we're two females. It's always been a wish of mine, and now I was just wondering how you feel about that?"

Gabriella's grip on her hand got harder, but the smile on her lips and the look in her eyes spoke volumes when Sharpay looked up at her, "I think those guys were wrong, honey, I think that... I think that we'd be amazing parents, and I really want to have a family with you."

"You do?" Sharpay softly whispered and crept closer, feeling a lot better already.

Gabriella nodded and kissed her briefly on the lips, "I do." she confirmed, "We can give a child everything it wants and you know that. How we'd get a child, through adopting, one of us giving birth to it, I don't care, the future will tell, we'll see, but... I really want that to happen."

Sharpay leaned in closer and kissed her repeatedly on the lips, "Thank you, I love you." she said.

Gabriella smiled warmly at her, "Alright then," she begun and reached onto the floor for something, "now that that's off the table... can I tell you how hot you look?" she continued, as she pulled up a bottle of wine and two glasses.

Sharpay took both glasses from her hands as Gabriella started to pour the wine, "You're very welcome to do so."

The Latina placed the bottle on the night stand next to her bed and said, "You look very hot when you're all wet." she stated and took her glass from Sharpay, "So? What do you wanna toast now? We've toasted us moving in together, we've toasted your CD... Any ideas?"

"How about we toast the future?" Sharpay suggested with a glint in her eye, "That we toast us having a family someday?"

Gabriella wrinkled her nose and said, instead, "Nah, how about we just... toast us?"

Sharpay nodded, "I really like that idea." she whispered and locked her eyes with Gabriella's again, feeling better than she had done in years. Right this moment, right that second, she knew that she couldn't be happier, because she had everything she could ever wish for, or at least she had it right in reach. They were so amazing together, and until now their love had been so great, their relationship had been so wonderful, all because Sharpay grabbed her chance and kissed Gabriella right that day in the Albuquerque mall, and because Gabriella grabbed a chance herself and went to see Sharpay when she was in New York.

It's funny how things work out sometimes, isn't it?

Gabriella raised her glass with a smile and said, "For the two of us"

"For us." Sharpay confirmed as they clinked their glasses.

* * *

_Thank you so much for reading this last chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! As I also hope that you've enjoyed this entire story? Thanks bunches for reviewing. _

_I want to explain the scene at McDonald's. That has sort of happened in real life, now... Not with the whole babies part, it was another conversation those people were having, but it was about lesbians, and my friend, she went right up to them and defended herself, her girlfriends and her other friends. I just added the baby part because I could use it in my story ;b _

_Anyway, drop me off one last comment, please? _

_I've already got new projects planned. I'll be posting a one-shot soon (I just have to write it first, haha) and it'll be another femslash one. It's going to be a crossover between Wizards of Waverly Place and Sonny With a Chance, having Sonny and Alex as the main characters, so I just wanted to let you know, in case you're interested in reading. And after that... I might be writing a Troypay fic, but I'm not totally sure yet. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own High School Musical. _


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